U.S. Politics
Around-the-clock political news and analysis from Reuters. Follow @ReutersPolitics for more.
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READER COMMENT: All this short time solution is again kicking the can down the road. -
A statement released by the conservative lobbying group, Heritage Action for America, on Thursday, October 10, 2013. Permanent link: heritageaction.com
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House approves mini spending bill to run border security programs amid shutdown. The vote was 249 to 175.by Chad Pergram via twitter 10/10/2013 6:21:05 PM -
Several U.S. Republican senators say reopening the federal government should be part of a House plan for short-term debt limit increase (Reuters Wire)
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Nancy Pelosi says that she is not sure what the terms of the proposed short-term debt limit increase legislation from House Republican lawmakers.
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Representative Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) stated on Thursday that Republican lawmakers are taking the country to the "edge of a cliff" in order to gain more leverage in budget negotiations. He noted rumored Republican budget cut priorities to Social Security and Medicare programs, as well a reference to scientific research, although he did not specify through what government agency or department such cuts to scientific research would occur.
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Rep. Pelosi repeats she does not know what the terms are that go along with the a 6-week debt limit increase legislation from House Republicans.
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GOP Senators made no statement to reporters at WH. Will no doubt chat with our colleagues at the Capitol.by Mark Knoller via twitter 10/11/2013 5:25:19 PM -
Carney briefing pushed to 2:45by Zeke Miller via twitter 10/11/2013 6:16:31 PM -
So, when Speaker John Boehner goes home, does his wife ever ask, "Honey, you're not really going to allow 40 people in the Tea Party to drive the whole world into a recession are you?"
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House crafting new CR/gov't shutdown plan. Hope to do it today. Would take amended CR & send it back to Senate. Not filibusterable.by Chad Pergram via twitter 10/15/2013 1:50:21 PM
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House GOP staffers flood out of private meeting in Capitol basement. It's members-only now.by Chris Moody via twitter 10/15/2013 2:16:39 PM -
Issa says House Rs opened their meeting by singing "Amazing Grace" this morning. Are unified behind their new plan.by Jeremy W. Peters via twitter 10/15/2013 2:16:50 PM -
The latest, via David Lawder of Reuters:
WASHINGTON - Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday hope to pass their own version of legislation to reopen the federal government that would differ from a plan now emerging from Senate negotiations, Republican lawmakers and aides said.
The Republican version would be similar to the Senate plan but would include two key concessions on "Obamacare" health reforms, said Republican Representative Darrell Issa. These include a two-year delay of a tax on medical devices that helps fund insurance subsidies as well as a requirement that Congress and top Obama administration cabinet officials obtain health coverage under the program.
Aides said the House plan calls for an extension of government funding at current levels through Jan. 15 and an extension of borrowing authority through Feb. 7. Issa said the House version would not allow the U.S. Treasury to renew its extraordinary cash management measures, which could stretch borrowing capacity for months. -
Reader Comment: There are two houses of congress for a reason; they must reach a compromise in BOTH. Those that would blame one side for any impasse is either siding with their ownideoligy or believe we should live under a dictatorship.
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Building off of David Lawder's Reuters report below, the House and Senate may now hit the volleyball court with an intensity last seen two weeks ago before the Oct. 1 shutdown deadline (check out this great NYT infographic to relive that drama).
The House will reportedly vote on their new bill today, sending it over to the Senate before the Senate finalizes the Reid/McConnell deal that was at the forefront of yesterday's negotiations. Chad Pergram of Fox News reports that House leaders are hopeful the Senate will accept their bill, which carries the same Jan. 15 / Feb. 7 dates for funding / debt limit extensions that Reid/McConnell discussed. Both the House and Senate plans also strengthen income verification rules for inidividual Obamacare subsidies. Politico has a good comparison of the rest (more from CBS News too):The [House] legislation would also delay Obamacare’s tax on medical devices for two years; cancel health-insurance subsidies for members of Congress, the president, vice president and the cabinet; and beef-up income verification requirements for Affordable Care Act subsidies.
[...]
But the Senate bill creates a bicameral negotiating committee, while the House’s bill does not. The House plans to include a delay of the medical device tax and language to cancel Obamacare subsidies for politicians — both are missing from the Senate’s bill. The House’s bill — and not the Senate’s — stops Treasury from using extraordinary measures to prevent default. The Senate’s bill also cancels a tax on insurance plan, in a concession to unions - that is not in the House’s bill.
It’s not yet clear if this Republican proposal will adversely affect the talks between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
Of course, the outcome that House Republican leaders seem to be angling for now is that the Senate is forced to accept the House bill they plan to pass today. The Senate is famously more prone to filibusters and other minority-driven voting delays, but taking up the bill sent back over by the House may avoid procedural hang-ups a new Reid-McConnell bill would have to face in the chamber.
Speaker Boehner is doing what he can to stay on offense. Robert Costa reports that the House plan saw strong support from his caucus (only minority hardline opposition). If it passes the House with majority Republican support, perhaps even some Democratic votes, it may force Reid in the Senate to consider the bill, even with its additional Republican-friendly terms, to send something to Obama before Thursday's deadline for default as laid down by the Treasury Department.
If the Reid and Senate Democrats strip out some of the House's terms and send it back, or if they choose to push forward with their own bill, the potential for the House to balk or Republican Senators to obfuscate and leave the nation in the lurch come Thursday may be much more likely. -
breaking from Senate GOP source: "the reinsurance tax is OUT of what’s being negotiated between Reid & McConnell..."by Robert Costa via twitter 10/15/2013 3:06:49 PM -
And now we have the White House rejecting the House proposal as a "partisan attempt to appease a small group of Tea Party Republicans," Reuters reports. The White House says that Democrats and Republicans have been working in good faith to resolve the impasse, and it's time for the House to do the same.
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Ds arent voting for House R proposal, so if Boehner wants want to pass it, he is going to have to do it on his own politico.com/story/2013/10/…by Jake Sherman via twitter 10/15/2013 3:10:03 PM -
BREAKING: At 3:15PM the president meets with members of the House Democratic Leadership.
White House: Leader Pelosi and Congressmen Hoyer, Clyburn, Becerra, Crowley, Israel and Van Hollen will attend the meeting.by Zeke Miller via twitter edited by Colin.McDonald 10/15/2013 3:10:25 PM -
Readers, above we now have live video of House Republican leaders speaking about their latest fiscal plan. Speaker Boehner is taking questions now (refresh your browser if the video gives you trouble).
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Boehner says that he's made clear for "months and months" that a default will be wrong, and that he's talking with his members on a way to move forward today on a bill in the House. He ends the presser after those two brief answers. We'll repost video feeds above as they come in.
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As fast as Hse R's had a potential counter offer, they dailed that back. Boehner: "No decisions on exactly what we will do."by Chad Pergram via twitter 10/15/2013 3:32:25 PM
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Readers, we're now streaming above video of the House Democrats responding to the House Republican presser that just ended. Pelosi just said that Boehner just showed that he didn't have the votes for his proposal, and that House Republicans are "wasting the public's time."
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Rep. James Clyburn says the public is "leery" of House Republicans' ability to listen to Americans and fulfill their responsibilities to the nation. Clyburn hopes that Speaker Boehner will "assess" his caucus and their ability to resolve the crisis.
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Schumer to Boehner: "Let him desist. Let him defer to the D and R leaders here, in this body."by Zeke Miller via twitter 10/15/2013 3:49:47 PM
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Pelosi says that she encouraged Boehner to take up a Reid-McConnell plan in the House first, then send it to the Senate in order to avoid filibusters and other Senate delays and resolve the crisis in time. She says that Boehner called this a "possibility." Reacting to the House plan that developed this morning instead, Pelosi calls it an act against such a bipartisan effort and a ploy to "default on the full faith and credit of the United States."
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Pelosi returns to whip counts, saying that she has "some experience" counting the votes that a Speaker needs to pass a contentious bill. "I think the moderates in the [Republican] caucus are going to have to have a moment of truth," Pelosi says, calling the more moderate House GOP members "enablers" of the hardline conservative minority in the party who are pushing for more concessions from Democrats.
Citing "internal combustion" among House Republicans, Pelosi claims that there also weren't enough votes for the House to move forward on proposals stretching back to the weekend.
Asked about reports that the U.S. could face credit downgrades as early as tonight, Pelosi says she has no details there, but that such a discussion alone is costing the nation "billions and billions" of dollars. Pelosi ends the presser here, showing intense concern for the reaction of global markets as Thursday's deadline nears.
We'll have video and more updates right here as they come in. -
If enough Senate Democrats rip Boehner's latest offer (whatever it may be) they might just help win support for it (whatever it may be).by John Dickerson via twitter 10/15/2013 4:03:16 PM -
Seems like Plan B redux. Might be the necessary step before Boehner finally gives up.by Ryan Lizza via twitter 10/15/2013 4:03:44 PM -
Well, readers, we've watched House Republicans and then House Democrats give their sides after an eventful morning of counter-proposing, vote counting, and proposal discounting. Above, we now head to the White House for the daily briefing (starting earlier than the usual 1pm!).
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White House Press Secretary Carney is asked the same question Pelosi faced earlier about potential U.S. downgrades from ratings agencies, and he refers the press to the Treasury Department, as he also does regarding a question on contingency plans should a deal not be reached by Thursday.
Carney says he's "encouraged" by the Senate's progress but that a deal is not imminent, and that Obama is seeking a plan that avoids similar fights recurring in the short term. On whether the Senate plan the White House favors offers such a long-term stable path, Carney simply repeats that this is the goal of negotiations. -
Carney is now facing questions about timelines and deadlines. Drawing a distinction between the debt limit deadline and a potential default, Carney says that the country "runs out of borrowing authority" on October 17th when it hits the debt limit deadline stipulated by Treasury Secretary Lew, and its will only be able to pay bills with cash on hand. Failing to address bills using cash on hand, then default on debt would be in play.
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Reminder: there is still no actual Senate plan and there is still no actual House plan.by Ryan Lizza via twitter 10/15/2013 5:08:02 PM
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"The Secretary does have the full confidence of the President" - Carney on Sebelius after extremely troubled ACA website rolloutby Steven Dennis via twitter 10/15/2013 5:12:39 PM -
READER COMMENT: The bitter truth is that the US has been living beyond its means for years, starting when we lost our manufacturing to low wage countries. Our economy is simply not producing the wealth required to maintain our level of spending. All the rest is so much jockeying for position so that the inevitable pain falls on "someone else" while special interests attempt to "Hijack" proposals put forth by those for reduced spending as opposed to those who want to maintain things as they are. On top of already unaffordable mandated programs, Obama and the Democrats have now added ACA, in keeping with their vision of government as an opposing force to the concentration of wealth in the hands of the few. Whether or not ACA is viable is really not germane to the basic overspending problem. It is only one more chip on an already overbalanced scale. Our political leaders know this as does the media, except that no-one wants to be the bearer of ill tidings. Unless reality sets in, I can't see a solution. There is no telling where we will end up. Good luck America.
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We're waiting on a video feed above of Senate Democratic leaders appearing before the press. House Democratic leaders are still scheduled to meet with Obama at the White House at 3:15pm ET.
Where do things stand now? The latest Reuters wrap story uses "disarray" to describe the House after a seemingly premature flurry of dealmaking news there this morning. Politico reports that the House GOP is still scrambling to pass some permutation with this morning's terms, with a rumor that members would then physically leave Washington to pressure the Senate to accept their bill. The Washington Post contends that Republican are pushing to the brink now simply because they've pushed so much already.
The Senate is doing its own part to pick up the pieces, after the House news scuttled a plan from Minority Leader McConnell to present his latest negotiation progress to Republicans this morning. That may happen this afternoon. The NY Times reports on a move toward emergency House bipartisanship from a few members:If House Republicans cannot pass a counterproposal on their own, a bipartisan group in the House would demand a vote on the Senate bill. The same situation early this year allowed a bipartisan Senate reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act to pass the House with a minority of Republicans in support.
Meanwhile, Felix Salmon of Reuters makes the point that the signs of default have already materialized:If Treasury payments can’t be trusted entirely, then not only do all risk instruments need to be repriced, but so does the most basic counterparty risk of all. The US government, in one form or another, is a counterparty to every single financial player in the world. Its payments have to be certain, or else the whole house of cards risks collapsing — starting with the multi-trillion-dollar interest-rate derivatives market, and moving rapidly from there.
And here’s the problem: we’re already well past the point at which that certainty has been called into question. -
READER COMMENT: Any precedent for the Speaker to call on the RNC to decide if he should put a bill for a vote even if there is strong republican opposition? At this point he has to show he can handle the crazy faction and show them that the party's interests are not always what they want. If the RNC stands with Boehner , they might swallow it and could be a solution in future disputes. -
Still waiting on Senate video, so I'll thank "Private" below and all of you for your comments as we keep rolling along here. Private, I'd point you to this story from February on the Violence Against Women Act to help answer your question -- Boehner in a select few cases has brought bills to the House floor that have had majority opposition in his own majority party (a violation of the so-called Hastert Rule). It was the same way for the fiscal cliff resolution and Sandy relief. You might also read this great Ezra Klein / Robert Costa Q&A about House Republicans.
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At noon ET, we'll be switching our video feed above to the Senate floor, where leaders there are expected to announce their bipartisan deal when the body reconvenes.
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Besides the framework of the Senate deal, look for speakers on the floor to discuss the timing and legislative path that the deal might take. They'll likely confirm earlier reports that the House will vote on the proposal first, then pass it over to the Senate to avoid potential procedural hurdles there -- such as the ability of Ted Cruz and other Republican hardliners to delay a vote, which may still be possible. Such delay would likely be due to a refusal to forgo mandated debating time windows rather than your standard filibuster depending on the House-to-Senate path.
We'll have to see if senators hint one way or another about such tactics, though the momentum is clearly in favor of timely resolution. -
We're beginning now with the Senate chaplain who's earned a bit of fame on his own for his incisive opening prayers during this process. He says that a "faint light" has emerged, and cautions against "reckless" decisions today.
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Democratic Majority Leader Reid speaks first, saying that he's waiting for his dealmaking counterpart, Republican Minority Leader McConnell, to get to the floor before giving his formal remarks -- presumably an introduction of their bipartisan proposal. McConnell was reportedly in a meeting with fellow Senate Republicans just before the session. Instead, Reid gives a brief appreciation of the aforementioned chaplain, Rev. Barry Black, for his wisdom and forthrightness. The chamber goes into roll call for now.
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Those of you who haven't tuned in for Senate proceedings before should know that these pauses in the action are common as senators organize and side meetings occur. On a day like today, it seems that there are challenges getting all of the major players in the room as they hammer out a final deal, but reports indicate that things are still moving quickly. Reid's remarks on waiting for McConnell suggested that we'd leave the holding pattern soon -- there's still urgency, but also necessary procedures and the burden of making sure a plan for passing the deal is in place.
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For what it's worth, this is day 16 of the shutdown. Only two have been longer: in 1978 and 1995-6.by Gabriel Debenedetti via twitter 10/16/2013 4:17:07 PM
Putin says Russia will follow up fast after Ukraine call with Biden
MOSCOW Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia would send ideas to Washington within a week to follow up his talks with U.S. President Joe Biden on the Ukraine crisis.
