Posted on 01/01/2013 8:06:11 PM PST by Jeff Winston
Washington – House leaders are planning to call a vote on the Senate-passed fiscal crisis bill as early as Tuesday night, moving ahead despite the concerns of rank-and-file Republicans about the lack of spending cuts in the package.
The House began its debate on the bill Tuesday evening. Lawmakers were moving quickly, after Republicans spent the day weighing their options... If they are to act on the bill, they have less than two days before a new congressional class is sworn in.
House Speaker John Boehner had earlier presented members with two options... The first would be to craft an amendment to the Senate bill that would add a package of spending cuts. However, it was determined that such a measure did not have enough votes to pass, so lawmakers were moving on to option two – an up-or-down vote on the Senate bill.
The vote comes amid increasing pressure from House Democrats and the Senate side. Democratic House leaders said Tuesday the time for talk was over and pushed their Republican counterparts for a vote. But even as House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called for a compromise, word came that the No. 2 House Republican, Eric Cantor, opposed the bill.
“I do not support it,” Cantor told reporters after a closed-door meeting with fellow Republicans. Rep. Steve LaTourette, R-Ohio, said earlier sentiment among House Republicans was to amend the bill to incorporate more spending cuts. Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., echoed the statement.
"I'd be shocked if this does not go back to the Senate" with changes by the House, Bachus said.
But other Republicans, while voicing opposition to the bill, acknowledged that it could potentially pass the House. Boehner, though, may have to rely on a large bloc of Democrats to get it approved...
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
LH: Thanks for your comments.
Everything you say is true of course but I remain puzzled why nobody in the PUBBIE side of things or conservative commentators mention this fact.
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