Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) objected Tuesday to Sen. Patty Murray’s (D-WA) request to begin House-Senate conference negotiations to resolve the differences between the two budgets the chambers passed.
McConnell objected because Murray declined to pre-set ground rules that the outcome of the negotiations not raise taxes or lift the debt ceiling. In other words, McConnell and Republians want to establish the rules in advance so that they can’t lose the debate.
The move comes one day after Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) objected to the same request by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) — for the same reason.
The budget disagreements are so big that leaders privately recognize the practical impossibility of coming to an agreement. Instead, Democrats are hammering the issue because their budget policies perform better in the polls and they want to put the screws to Republicans on their demands of passing a budget through “regular order.”
McConnell’s office says regular order entails voting on the conditions prior to moving to conference — a claim Democrats scoff at.
“Some Republicans said they want to negotiate a framework behind closed doors before going to conference, but that’s what a budget is,” Murray said. “It’s a framework that lays out our values and our priorities and helps us plan for the country’s future. I think that framework is exactly what we ought to be debating in a formal and public conference, and there’s no reason to wait.”
