Nothing should surprise me with these folks. But apparently House Republicans are considering passing their bill (which is a nonstarter in the Senate and White House) and simply leaving town.
Meanwhile, Rep. John Fleming (R-LA) discusses plan to push House offer as close as possible to default deadline to maximize leverage.
With their plan dissolving this may become a moot point, but I mentioned earlier how the House GOP leadership plan unveiled this morning included a provision that would bar the Treasury Department from taking extraordinary measures to avert default whenever we approach the debt ceiling again the next time.
Enough of this skating around default — we want to feel the pain of imminent default quicker next time!
Here’s the rationale for that provision, according to the GOP’s outline of its plan:
Former San Diego Mayor Bob Filner to face battery and false imprisonment charges.
A remarkable morning on Capitol Hill even by recent standards. The quick rundown is this:
The new House GOP counteroffer is already running into turbulence … in the House GOP conference.
That may be why Speaker Boehner, when he appeared before reporters just now after spending much of the morning meeting with his members, emphasized a work in progress and didn’t lay out the specifics of what the bill would include.
More soon.
One of the provisions of the new House bill John Boehner is planning to bring to a floor vote today would prohibit the Treasury Department from taking extraordinary measures to prevent government default the next time we approach a breach of the debt limit. Think about that for a minute.
We technically hit the debt limit this time around back in May, but the Treasury secretary has been juggling the books to delay the actual breach until this week. But House Republicans don’t want that kind of delay next time. They want the full hostage-taking pressure of an approaching debt limit breach to be unmitigated. Full steam ahead.
Supreme Court to hear new case on whether EPA exceeded its power in regulating greenhouse gas emissions from factories and power plants.
Rather than rolling over in the face of a (still emerging) bipartisan Senate deal, House Republicans are going to offer their own bill today. More soon on the particulars.
Late update: Here’s the early word on what the House GOP bill (perhaps best seen as a counteroffer to the Senate) will include.