House conservatives signaled their disapproval of a possible Senate deal that would reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling, providing expected complications just two days ahead of a Thursday deadline to raise the nation's borrowing limit.
And now House Republicans are planning to move their own bill, according to National Review's Robert Costa.
Per Costa and other reports, the bill would fund the government through Jan. 15 and raise the debt ceiling through Feb. 7.
It would also include three Affordable Care Act-related provisions — a two-year delay of the tax on medical devices, an income-verification process for people applying for subsidies, and a version of the "Vitter amendment" that would bar just lawmakers (not congressional and White House staff) from receiving subsidies for federal health insurance under Obamacare.
It's not clear if Republican leadership has the votes for its own plan.
House Speaker John Boehner said at a press conference Tuesday morning that "there have been no decisions about what exactly we will do."
"We are talking with our members on both sides of the aisle to try to find a way to move forward today," Boehner said. Later, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi told reporters in a press conference that Boehner doesn't have the votes.
The White House blasted the reported plan in a statement late Tuesday morning, saying it was a "ransom" designed to "appease a small group of Tea Party Republicans who forced the government shutdown in the first place."
"The president has said repeatedly that members of Congress don't get to demand ransom for fulfilling their basic responsibilities to pass a budget and pay the nation's bills," White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage said in the statement.
On the Senate floor Thursday morning, Majority Leader Harry Reid said that the new House proposal "blindsided" him. He said he was "disappointed" with Boehner.
"I'm very disappointed with John Boehner, who would once again try to preserve his role at the expense of this country," Reid said.
Boehner spokesman Michael Steel responded to Reid's comments minutes later, saying that he is "so blinded by partisanship that he is willing to risk default on our debt to protect a 'pacemaker tax.'"
President Obama is meeting with House Democratic leaders on Tuesday afternoon, the White House said.
Before they walked into the 9 a.m. House Republican conference meeting Tuesday morning, House conservatives complained to Costa. One Tea Party congressman called the Senate plan a "mushy piece of s—." Another said that if House Speaker John Boehner backs the deal, "he's in trouble."
"That seems to be an oxymoron. 'Senate,' then 'plan,'" said Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas).
The opposition to the Senate plan is not really a surprise. House Republicans en masse won't be thrilled that the only thing they're "getting" out of this is an income-verification measure for people obtaining subsidies through the Affordable Care Act. It's not a policy victory with which they can go home to their constituents after a more than two-week shutdown.
According to Roll Call, about 15-20 House conservatives met in secret with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) Monday night at the Capitol Hill watering hole Tortilla Coast, where they plotted how to respond to the Senate deal. Given the reactions from House conservatives Tuesday, it's likely that they discussed how to hold firm on their opposition to any deal that does not fundamentally alter Obamacare.
And it appears that House leadership is not yet ready to give in to the Senate plan.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/debt-ceiling-shutdown-deal-house-boehner-2013-10#ixzz2hoYH64Z2
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