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Breaking … Boehner Postpones House Vote on Debt Plan

Posted: July 28, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: just because |13 Comments

House Speaker John Boehner has postponed a planned vote on his plan to raise the Federal debt ceiling by 1 Trillion in return for around 1 Trillion in spending cuts. Here is the official announcement to House members, from Think Progress:

**Members are advised that the House GOP Leadership has postponed the votes on the motion to recommit and final passage of S. 627 – Speaker Boehner’s Short Term Default Act (amending the Faster FOIA Act of 2011). Following general debate on S. 627, the House will consider the eight bills listed for consideration under suspension of the Rules.

Looks like he didn’t have the votes. From Talking Points Memo:

Despite a days-long push to force their conservative members into line, and sneak Speaker John Boehner’s (R-OH) debt limit bill through the House of Representatives, GOP leadership has postponed a scheduled vote on the legislation — a sign that their efforts have thus far failed.

This evening, members were alerted that Boehner and his leadership team were delaying the vote, which had been scheduled for 6 p.m.

According to TPM, it’s still possible the bill could come up for a vote tonight after other issues are dealt with. It sounds unlikely though.

I’ll update in the comments with anything else I find. Hope you’ll do the same.

13 Comments on “Breaking … Boehner Postpones House Vote on Debt Plan”

  1. bostonboomer says:
    July 28, 2011 at 5:21 pm

    Boehner says Repubs want chaos so they can force bigger cuts:

    BOEHNER: Well, first they want more. And my goodness, I want more too. And secondly, a lot of them believe that if we get past August the second and we have enough chaos, we could force the Senate and the White House to accept a balanced budget amendment. I’m not sure that that — I don’t think that that strategy works. Because I think the closer we get to August the second, frankly, the less leverage we have vis a vis our colleagues in the Senate and the White House.

    • Adrienne in CA says:
      July 28, 2011 at 5:34 pm

      Exactly why I don’t trust either side’s kabuki dance. Another phony game of chicken to justify some awful “compromise.”

  2. bostonboomer says:
    July 28, 2011 at 5:27 pm

    Fox News says Dems are working on “Plan C.”

    Senate Budget Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., hinted at such a compromise earlier Thursday during an interview on Fox News.

    “Let me just say behind the scenes there are discussions underway to find a way forward,” said Conrad. “To how would you harmonize what Leader Reid has come up with and Speaker Boehner has come up with and I’m increasingly of the view that we can do that. That’s good news.”

    The focus of this round of talks is on what kind of “trigger” mechanism the debt ceiling legislation will have to guarantee that a new special committee of Congress actually follows up with real spending cuts later this year. And whether or not positive action by the committee will allow the president to get more leeway on another lift in the debt ceiling so there’s no repeat of the current debate early next year.

    These Democratic officials see three steps to a compromise and they stress that the White House believes the first two steps are not necessarily that difficult, while the third one — the trigger mechanism — will be the flashpoint.

    Part One of the emerging compromise involves the spending cuts in the Boehner and Reid plans, which the Democratic officials note have some overlap and can be bridged relatively easy.

    Part Two involves the fact that both Boehner and Reid want to set up a special committee of Congress to come back with a second round of spending cuts — and possible tax changes — in a few months. While there are differences to their committees, this is another area where the Democratic officials see a lot of overlap.

    Part Three is the sticking point, and that is what “trigger” mechanisms are in place to incentivize action by this special committee to make sure it is not just yet another Washington commission that ends up doing nothing.

  3. bostonboomer says:
    July 28, 2011 at 5:53 pm

    The House has gone into recess for now. I’m not sure what’s happening.

  4. bostonboomer says:
    July 28, 2011 at 5:56 pm

    26 House Repubs oppose the Boehner bill. He needs 24, unless he can gets some Dems to vote for it.

  5. bostonboomer says:
    July 28, 2011 at 6:01 pm

    Ohio Rep Jim Jordan may lose his seat because of open rebellion against Boehner.

    http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2011/07/28/payback-coming.html?sid=101

  6. madamab says:
    July 28, 2011 at 6:41 pm

    The collapse of the GOP has become even more epic than the collapse of the Democratic Party. Wow. What is going to happen next? Will the corporatist Repubs oust the wingnut whackadoodles? Will the liberal wing grow some ovaries and oust Obama? Stay tuned!

  7. bostonboomer says:
    July 28, 2011 at 6:58 pm

    Conservatives are angry because Boehner’s bill includes funding for Pell Grants, which they think is welfare.

    http://thehill.com/homenews/house/174253-house-conservatives-angry-over-pell-grant-funding-in-boehner-debt-bill

    • grayslady says:
      July 28, 2011 at 7:47 pm

      From the article you referenced:

      Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.) has compared Pell Grants to “welfare”.

      “So you can go to college on Pell Grants — maybe I should not be telling anybody this because it’s turning out to be the welfare of the 21st century,” Rehberg told Blog Talk Radio in April. “You can go to school, collect your Pell Grants, get food stamps, low-income energy assistance, Section 8 housing, and all of a sudden we find ourselves subsidizing people that don’t have to graduate from college.”

      The problem with this idiot’s (lack of) thinking is that a 2005-2006 report on Pell Grant recipients (http://www2.ed.gov/finaid/prof/resources/data/pell-2005-06/pell-eoy-2005-06.html) shows that 47%(!!!) of the Pell Grants were spent by people pursuing a Masters or a Doctorate, regardless of whether the educational institution was public, private, or proprietary. This is just Reagan’s ridiculous “welfare queens” all over again.

  8. Minkoff Minx says:
    July 28, 2011 at 8:05 pm

    Without Tea Party Votes, Boehner Speakership Hits Rough Waters : It’s All Politics : NPR

    Have you seen this?

  9. Minkoff Minx says:
    July 28, 2011 at 8:12 pm

    One more:

    Hardliners in debt talks have debt problems of their own – CNN Political Ticker – CNN.com Blogs

    At a tea party rally, Sen. Mike Lee of Utah said his faction needs to push forward a balanced budget amendment and other measures “… in order to save our country from a Congress that for decades has been burying our children and our grandchildren, both born and unborn, under a mountain of debt.”

    But according to recently released disclosure forms, Lee and others in his caucus have some significant personal debt of their own.

    The documents — annual personal financial disclosure forms that were released in June — show that Lee had amassed at least $15,000 in credit card debt and had a $50,000 line of credit at a Utah bank as of late last year.

    He’s not alone. Republican Rep. Tim Griffin of Arkansas had at least $15,000 of debt accumulated on an American Express card, according to the forms. Griffin, who won his seat with tea party support, has recently said Washington has “a spending addiction.”

    Rep. Kevin Yoder, a freshman Republican from Kansas, said in a recent press release, “Washington needs to cut up the credit cards.” But Yoder’s own form shows he amassed at least $15,000 in what’s called a “revolving charge account” with Citigroup.

    The forms are not exact. They do not reveal exact amounts of assets or liabilities. They only list ranges; for example, the form for Griffin shows his credit card debt to be between $15,000 and $50,000.

    The disclosures, added to the recent language these congressmen have been using to stoke the debate in Washington, have drawn criticism from at least one watchdog group.

    Ryan Alexander, president of the nonpartisan group Taxpayers for Common Sense, says, “It raises that question: How are you managing your personal debt? You’re telling us how to manage our debt as a country, you’re making ultimatums, and we don’t know what you’re doing with your personal debt. And they’re holding credit card debt. Not every American does that. That’s a choice that you made, to put that kind of debt on your own personal finances.”

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