The New Senate 'Deal' On The Shutdown And Debt Ceiling Seems Far From Certain To Pass The House
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The new deal being brokered in the Senate by Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell seems far from certain to pass the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.
The outline of the deal called for it to fund the government through Jan. 15 and raise the debt ceiling through mid-February. It was greeted with lukewarm reception from conservatives Monday night.
The government shutdown entered into its 14th day on Monday. And Congress needs to raise the debt ceiling by Thursday, the Treasury Department says, or the U.S. would risk defaulting on some of its obligations.
House Republicans criticized the possible Senate deal to both National Review's Jonathan Strong and Politico's Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan on Monday night — a gloomy sign with a Thursday deadline fast approaching.
The main tradeoff in the Senate deal would involve a one-year delay in the Obamacare reinsurance tax (which would be viewed as a win for Democrats, presumably, since unions oppose the tax) — in exchange for an income-verification measure for those applying for subsidies under the health-care law (a win for Republicans).
Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio) doesn't see that as a win for his side. More from National Review:
“It’s less robust than I had expected,” says Representative Steve Stivers, a top ally to Speaker John Boehner, about the reported terms of the Senate deal. Asked if he’d seen anything in the deal that appeals to the GOP, Representative James Lankford, the fifth-ranking member of House leadership, says “not that I’ve seen so far, no.”
Politico frames the story as a potential choice for House Speaker John Boehner. He could decide for the House to act on its own while the Senate tries to pass this bill. He could decide to wait for the Senate bill, then amend it to add a conservative priority. Or he could bring the Senate bill up for a vote.
But, according to Politico, one Republican said that Boehner would be lucky for Boehner to get 20 Republican votes on the current version of the Senate deal. This is what many concede will probably have to happen — but it's not clear when, and it "won't be pretty," according to Politico.
Sources close to Boehner have given no inclination as to whether he's leaning a certain way. A Democratic Senate aide told Business Insider earlier Monday that it's up to McConnell to sell the deal to Boehner — no sure thing.
" Our job is to get the best deal we can get that House Dems can support," the aide said.
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