GOP leaders in the House of Representatives backed away from a tentative plan to vote on raising the debt limit with a package of conservative reforms, leaving them without a clear path forward before the Nov. 3 deadline, when the limit must be lifted.
The conservative Republican Study Committee (RSC) had authored a proposal that would hike the debt limit into 2017, impose a halt on new regulations, ban the Senate from filibustering spending bills after October, and prevent either chamber from adjourning in September if they haven’t finished work on appropriations bills, The Hill reported.
GOP aides indicated that on Thursday, Oct. 22 that the bill is now unlikely to hit the floor. The RSC has about 170 members, which is short of the 218 votes needed to pass legislation.
The RSC plan, penned by Texas Rep. Bill Flores, raises the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion — enough to last into 2017 — but stipulates no new government regulations until July 2017, and also forces the House to stay in session until it completes the appropriations process, said Politico.
With the plan now on the shelf, it’s “unclear what the House’s next move will be on the debt limit, with less than two weeks left until the Treasury Department says the nation faces a potential default.
On Wednesday, Oct. 21, the House passed legislation that prioritizes certain debt payments in the event of a default. However, Senate Democrats have said they oppose the measure, and President Obama has even threatened to veto it. Senate aides say it would be “very unlikely” for the bill to pass in the chamber.
Pressure has been growing on House Republicans to take action ahead of the deadline. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said it was up to the lower chamber to make the first move.
The RSC bill emerged as one option, but Republican senators “balked” at the idea that the House would try to change Senate rules, while both House and Senate Democrats vow to support only a “clean” debt-limit bill, with no preconditions.
The RSC plan had been in the works for a Friday vote but was never officially scheduled. Meanwhile, House GOP leaders had been whipping the measure in recent days to gauge its support.
“House Republicans have floated two plans that are nothing more than default and economic collapse by another name. I want to be crystal clear up front — both the prioritization bill the House is considering today and the Republican Study Committee’s proposal are dead on arrival in the Senate,” said Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY.), the third-ranking member of the Democratic leadership.
Sen. Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) suggested that while the Senate is waiting for now, it could be forced to move a debt bill first.
“At some point we probably can’t afford to wait any longer,” the Senate’s No. 2 Republican said. “I don’t know exactly what the drop-dead date is but something needs to start moving here pretty soon.”
When asked if Senate Republicans would offer a clean bill if they have to move first, Cornyn said, “that’s not the way it will start,” also noting there would be amendments. He declined to fully discuss what could be included in the Senate bill.
“Shame on us if we haven’t sort of thought about that in advance and war-gamed it,” added Cornyn. “It’s possible we could pass something, and we send it back to the House, and they pass it before it gets to the president. We’re getting ready to get on a glide path to get to a conclusion here.”
