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House plans clean debt bill vote
House Republicans are abandoning their plan to tie a debt limit increase to a restoration of military pension cuts, and will instead try to pass a “clean†debt limit bill on Tuesday night.
Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) made the announcement in a private party meeting Tuesday morning at the Capitol Hill Club. The vote was moved from Wednesday to Tuesday because of an impending snow storm on the East Coast.
Boehner will need to rely heavily on Democratic votes to clear the legislation. The vote is expected to be very close.
Senior Republican aides and lawmakers say the bill will likely pass if every Democrat votes “yes.†In that scenario, 17 Republicans would need to vote with Democrats — a threshold that will be difficult to meet.
If fewer than 200 Democrats vote ‘yes,’ the bill will be in danger of failing.
There are at least 181 Democratic votes in favor of a clean debt limit. The GOP leadership will have to search for the remaining votes Tuesday before voting on the bill and leaving Washington for nearly two weeks.
If the bill passes, the Senate is expected to act quickly before leaving town at the end of the week. But Democrats there will need Republican cooperation for speedy consideration of the bill.
House Republicans are abandoning their plan to tie a debt limit increase to a restoration of military pension cuts, and will instead try to pass a “clean†debt limit bill on Tuesday night.
Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) made the announcement in a private party meeting Tuesday morning at the Capitol Hill Club. The vote was moved from Wednesday to Tuesday because of an impending snow storm on the East Coast.
Boehner will need to rely heavily on Democratic votes to clear the legislation. The vote is expected to be very close.
Senior Republican aides and lawmakers say the bill will likely pass if every Democrat votes “yes.†In that scenario, 17 Republicans would need to vote with Democrats — a threshold that will be difficult to meet.
If fewer than 200 Democrats vote ‘yes,’ the bill will be in danger of failing.
There are at least 181 Democratic votes in favor of a clean debt limit. The GOP leadership will have to search for the remaining votes Tuesday before voting on the bill and leaving Washington for nearly two weeks.
If the bill passes, the Senate is expected to act quickly before leaving town at the end of the week. But Democrats there will need Republican cooperation for speedy consideration of the bill.