Posted on 03/16/2015 6:45:52 PM PDT by kristinn
The House's hard-core conservatives have gotten used to losing at the end of a long legislative fight. But for the first time in the 114th Congress, Speaker John Boehner is cutting them loose from the get go.
Boehner and his top chairmen will pitch a permanent "doc-fix" deal to Republicans Tuesday morning that would have been unheard of in the GOP-led House of the last few years: an entitlement change that adds tens of billions of dollars to the 10-year deficit and that they know fiscal hawks will vote against. What's more, Boehner and his team negotiated the deal with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and her Democrats first.
That is a noted strategy shift for Boehner, who on several recent occasions—including last month's Homeland Security Department funding standoff—has only gone to Pelosi as a last resort and, instead, relied on 218 Republicans to pass right-leaning bills. Now he is not bothering to try to appease the most vocal hard-liners in his party, members who—Boehner's allies have argued—were never going to come around to his side anyway.
Perhaps even more interestingly, the proposal—which could reach the floor as soon as this week—is coming in part from Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan, who so insisted on offsetting all spending when he chaired the Budget Committee that he might have voted against this very deal a few years ago.
"This is a hard run to the middle," said a former GOP aide who has worked on fiscal issues. "It's nothing more than a 100-plus billion-dollar hole in the deficit, if you're at all worried about a primary from the fiscal conservative side, which is still dominating the Republican Party."
"The interesting thing is how Paul argues this. His first big move from the committee is to allow 100-plus billion dollars in entitlement spending to go unpaid for?" the source continued.
In fact, Boehner, Ryan, and other leaders will argue that, if you look beyond the standard 10-year budget window, the deal is a win for Republicans. Only about a third of the up to $200 billion price tag will be paid for within 10 years—half of that by reforms to Medicare long sought by Republicans and the other half through costs imposed on hospitals and other Medicare service providers. But those Medicare reforms, leaders will argue, will save money in the long term.
The deal also removes a perennial sword of Damocles hanging over doctors who treat Medicare patients, as it repeals a policy that would raise their costs by more than 20 percent if it is allowed to lapse at the end of the month.
"We are working to develop a bipartisan framework that finally resolves the never-ending doc-fix problem while putting in place responsible reforms that would strengthen the Medicare program for seniors," Boehner spokesman Kevin Smith said.
Meanwhile, House Democrats have agreed to the policy without insisting on tax increases in return. What they get instead is a two-year reauthorization of the Children's Health Insurance Program at levels agreed to in the Affordable Care Act. And even that is a relief for GOP leaders; CHIP not only splits the Republican Party, but it expires in September, just as government spending is set to run out. Amid another potential shutdown jam, GOP leaders would also likely have to deal with Democrats to get it passed then or concoct their own policy and suffer attacks from Democrats accusing them of endangering or making draconian cuts to children's health care programs.
SNIP
Conservatives talk a good game, but none will step up to challenge
Bonehead to stop this insanity. They are as much to blame as Bonehead.
Bump
Boner: Working hard for a one-party socialist America.
Boehner’s New Strategy:
screw conservatives.
Actually, they did the same thing last year:
http://blogs.rollcall.com/218/secret-doc-fix-deal-angers-rank-and-file-video/
“Republican leaders struck a closed-door agreement with Democrats to pass the bill by voice vote while members were not yet in the chamber, according to members and aides from both parties.”
Time for local and state GOP orgs to start passing bills of no confiden e in boner. The dude is obviously working for the other side as is turtle.man.
95 percent of the GOP rank and file elected Boehner their leader and then most of them turn around and make tough sounding conservative speeches, attack Obama and so on, vote “No” on bills that will pass anyway with Democrat support.
REGARDLESS OF HOW THOSE 200 PLUS RANK AND FILE REPUBLICAN MEMBERS VOTE ON CERTAIN BILLS AND REGARDLESS OF THE CONSERVATIVE WORDS THAT COME OUT OF THEIR MOUTHS, THEIR VOTES FOR BOEHNER AS LEADER TELL ME THEY ARE NOT REAL CONSERVATIVES.
A third party is an absolute necessity to finally define who the real conservatives are in this country.
Republicans can gth. All of them. They made Boehner Speaker. First time: mistake, second time: endorsement.
Oh Ye of little faith! If you only knew how hard our man in Congress is working. He will find the answer if he has to has to go into every bar in Georgetown! He will not cease until every brand on every bartender's top shelf has been tested for compliance with the Pure Food and Drug Act. Ted Kennedy is gone. Condit is gone. Kasich has gone domestic. Who's left? It's a dirty job, but someone must, must I say, do it.
Be proud that it is one of our men. The fact that the death of Boehner's liver will probably coincide with the death of our Republic, when viewed in scientific context, is merely a side effect.
Never mind the voters, who achieved the two midterm victories.
It has been his strategy all along.
They push all the savings and cost cutting into the future, so they don’t have to deal with it now. So that when the future becomes the present, they could renege on the previous deal. We don’t even have to wait 10 years for them to break their promose. They reneged on the previous year budget fight already.
promose=promise
Boehner has dropped all pretense of promoting a Republican opposition. He has gone rogue. If the Republican Congress bows down to this, it is all over; the November election has been nullified and Obama won by a landslide.
If a politician promises something ten years down the road, you now it won’t happen like the GOP malarkey about balancing the budget.
Joe Stalin used to promise a better life to his slaves in the USSR in five years with “Five Year Plans”.
Boehner’s New Strategy:
screw conservatives.
—
It worked before.
THOSE 200 PLUS ELECTED REPUBLICAN REPS WHO VOTED FOR BOEHNER ARE ALL FAKING US OUT, THEY AREN’T CONSERVATIVES THEMSELVES.
THIRD PARTY......THE AMERICAN DREAM PARTY??????
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