The House just passed the GOP debt plan legislation by a vote of 218 - 210. All 188 Democrats who were present voted no (five did not vote.) And, 22 Republicans also voted no.
It's a short-term extension. If the GOP version becomes law, when we go through this again, the Balanced Budget Amendment must be on its way to ratification in order to lift the debt ceiling:
It would also mandate that the second hike of the ceiling could occur only occur after a balanced-budget amendment passed both chambers of Congress and was sent to the states for ratification. Previously, a vote on such an amendment was all that was required for that second increase, which under the Boehner plan would likely be necessary early next year.As Think Progress notes, when the GOPers controlled both houses of Congress and the White House from 2003-06, they never pushed that amendment. The Republicans have learned that hostage taking pays off for them. So, why not keep upping the ransom?
So now, to the Senate. It's going to be a busy weekend in that body. The first Senate vote could occur very early on Sunday morning, like 1:00 AM early. The Senate being the Senate, that could all change. If things slide, Obama will accept a two-day extension in the debt ceiling.
Whatever happens, I agree wholeheartedly with Jon Walker:
From a political perspective it would be the Democrats who actually raise the debt ceiling and Democrats who are responsible for putting in place an austerity package of all spending cuts during a major recession.We're facing the possibilty of seeing more damage to Social Security and Medicare while the Democrats control the White House and the Senate then we saw when the GOPers had the White House, the Senate and the House. And, the Democrats are going to claim this as a victory. Stunning.
On a policy level the Reid’s plan is nothing but support of an all out war on progressive values. It is spending cuts during a jobs crisis. It would foolishly reduce demand, during an economy downturn, a prolongation of pain and lowering demand, which would make the economy worse. It is also a major deficit reduction plan without tax increases. Doing this will fully legitimize the conservative framing that we have a “spending problem not a tax problem.”
This will be seen by the GOP as a validation of the “no new taxes” demand. It will only encourage Republicans to be even more intransigent in the future.
Worst of all Reid’s plan contains the Catfood Commission II. It would pave the way for cutting Medicare and Social Security benefits using a special legislative process designed to destroy basic democratic accountability.
Imagine if Washington put as much time and energy into creating jobs. We might actually start making a dent in the deficit.
