The Senate will vote on a motion to proceed to a clean increase in the debt ceiling through 2014 this Saturday, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced Thursday.
Senate Democrats and even several Senate Republicans have indicated their preference for a “clean” extention of the debt ceiling, without any language repealing or delaying the Affordable Care Act. As House Republicans plot their next move, the White House has so far held firm, maintaining that any further talks must come after the government is opened and threat of default eliminated.
“With every day that passes, it is more and more important for Republicans to stop denying the reality of default and start working with us to find common ground,” Reid said on the Senate floor. “Mr. President, all we’ve said, open the government. Let us pay our bills. We’ll negotiate with them on anything. We’ll have a conversation with them about anything. Open the government, let us pay our bills. Then we’ll negotiate.”
