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The House of Representatives authorized a suspension of the nation’s debt limit through mid-May, delaying a default on the government’s obligations that would have taken effect in February.
The House of Representatives has passed the extension of the US debt limit to May 19 with a vote of 285 to 144. The measure moves on to the Senate for final passage. MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.
The GOP-controlled House voted 285 to 144 to comfortably pass a three-month extension in the government’s borrowing authority just as Senate Democratic leaders suggested they would take up and pass the legislation as soon as they could.
The vote early Wednesday afternoon by the House would forestall a default on the national debt. The Treasury Department had warned that the government would exhaust its authority to borrow to finance its existing obligations by the middle of February.
The bill, which Republican leaders unveiled last week, would suspend the debt limit through May 18 and require both the House and the Senate to produce and pass a budget resolution in the meanwhile, with a deadline of April 15. If either chamber fails to pass a budget, its pay would be put into escrow – “No Budget, No Pay” goes the newly-minted Republican slogan to describe this strategy.
J. Scott Applewhite / AP
Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, and the House GOP leadership speak to reporters after a closed-door meeting on avoiding a potential debt crisis, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013.
"It's time for Congress to get serious about this," Boehner said of the mounting national debt during a speech on the House floor ahead of the vote, "and this is the first step in an effort to bring real fiscal responsibility to Washington."
Republicans settled upon the strategy in the face of criticism from President Barack Obama that another round of brinksmanship over the debt limit would threaten catastrophe for the economy.
“To spare the middle class another knock-down, drag-out fight, we're going to proceed on this legislation and get it out of here as soon as we can,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said in a press conference on Wednesday.
The GOP’s new tack has the added benefit of forcing Senate Democrats to produce a formal budget, something the upper chamber has avoided for several years now. Democratic budget chief, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said Wednesday that Senate leaders had intended to produce a budget anyway, and would do so regardless of what the House bill requires.
Budgets are often political documents as much as a governing roadmap; Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan’s two budgets as Republican chairman of the House Budget Committee proposed a series of spending cuts and major changes to entitlement programs. But Democrats also managed to seize upon the most controversial elements of the Ryan budgets to use it to campaign against Republicans. If Senate Democrats author a budget, Republicans will doubtless seek to turn it against their opponents.
In the meanwhile, Republican leaders in the House have vowed to produce a budget document that would balance the U.S. budget within a decade. Ryan, the erstwhile GOP vice presidential nominee, said at a Wall Street Journal breakfast this morning that he expects this new strategy to yield “a big down payment on the debt crisis.”
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what a bunch of scumbag cowards--- all of them--- do they really think things will be better in May?? Maybe they hope, like most Americans hope, that a nuke will wipe them all off the face of the earth before this next deadline comes.
Do you suppose they are pushing it back so they have 4-5 months to get even richer off the stock market before they cause it to collapse??
To the dismay of many liberal/progressive economists, Obama has signed into law legislation that makes the Bush Era tax cuts permanent for 99.3% of taxpayers, something Democrats had been fighting to prevent for 12 years. This new tax package just about puts the final nail in the coffin of “Big Government”, as it adds another $4 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years. The only way to fund big government programs is with higher taxes on everyone, including the middle class, as there are not enough higher income folks to fund it – that is now off the table. It is now just a matter of time before we see the spending cuts that will be forced upon a Congress and federal government not used to having to prioritize what will be funded and what will not. It is about time.
Wow - let's give the GOP a ribbon for not intentionally torpedoing the economy - for the second time! Remember that delightful 1000 pt drop on the Dow and collapse of hiring summer of 2011? Thanks GOP, sure was fun! This time it was a little easier decision - last time there was incentive to suppress the economic recovery due to the 2012 election cycle. Remember - a win for the economy or the American people, meant a win for Obama. And we can't have that!
So now Romney lost, but still - the thought is: "I don't want to get primaried from the Right in my uber-Right wing redistricted Congressional district!"
Country First! Right GOP?????
I'll take the opportunity to say I told you so. As I predicted months ago, they will give themselves more time in our interest. What a crock. How about you get the job done in the time you've had. And as for the escrow notion, it is without any doubt that he intends to secretly add interest to the money.
So let's summarize. Congress did not do their job last year, decides to give themselves more time to not do their job, and likely intends to give themselves a bonus in interest for this performance.
Remember at election time to only vote for non-republican and non-democrat parties. It is the only route to change in our broken system.
WOW!! The GOP has become a bunch of ULTRAMAROONS!! It's down right shameful! THEY HAVE NO HONOR!! Gerrymandering is illegal... and needs to be addressed NOW! I'd be laughing if the matters at hand weren't so damn serious! What gives folks!?!? The GOP spent us in to Oblivian on Iraq and lost any credibility using the term fiscally responsible... Now turns to the debt ceiling and decides they are going to vote on it again this year!?!? WHO ARE THESE NUT JOBS!?!? And how are they being allowed to harm our economy by doing what they are doing? HELLO!!! GOP!! YOU ARE DESTROYING OUR Economy instead of helping!! You're right GOP!! A revolution is coming... but it will be to use force to erase corrupted stupidity from our congressional ranks like the likes of your party has become infected by. Don't you realize you're cheating your own grandchildren's children? I want REAL educated people making decisions... not phonys who talk in unreal hypotheicals that cannot be tested or replicated. And let's not forget GOP that Geryymandering is STILL ILLEGAL!! Not sure why you're SO proud of your dishonorable actions. Why would anyone with any kind of decent reputation or soul want to back such a corrupt dishonest group as yourselves?
How can you claim to be fiscally responsible when you cause the market to go stagnant for a quarter all because of the GOP decides they aren't going to pay the bills and instead are willing to wreck our credit rating. How is this helping us?? Looks more like screwing US!! Off with their heads! These people aren't pro business or pro anything!!
What a joke! Putting their pay "in escrow" will not affect anything. Their salary is just the chickenfeed. Freeze their fundraising ability, and their expense accounts (including their office budget) and then just maybe you'll get their attention.
This bill is a red herring. It has no impact on legislators at the national level. Their pay is the smallest benefit of holding office. If they wanted to pass a bill that makes both sides play together, they would suspend the "right" of anyone in the government accepting "donations" from lobbyists until a bill is signed. THAT would be a wake up call. This bill is just a pointless yawn designed to make it seem like something is being done.
IDIOTS IN CHARGE.
Can't you Ohioians recall John Bo(eh)ner? The country needs you to stand up. Get out the A-300 and delouse the Congress.
Couldn't trust this guy with an empty pop bottle. His actions speak louder than any words proffered here. ©2013