GOP leaders seek debt fix votes despite White House veto threat and internal tensions

By Associated Press, Published: July 27 |
Updated: Thursday, July 28, 9:13 AM

WASHINGTON — Crisis concerns rising, House Republican leaders shrugged off a White House veto threat and an outbreak of tensions within their own party Wednesday as they built support for legislation to stave off the government default threatened for next week. Worried Wall Street sent stocks plunging on fears that political gridlock would prevail.

“I can’t do this job unless you’re behind me,” House Speaker John Boehner bluntly told his fractious rank and file in the run-up to a scheduled Thursday vote on the bill, which was hastily rewritten to show deeper spending cuts than 24 hours earlier.

 

GOP leaders seek debt fix votes despite White House veto threat and internal tensions - The Washington Post

 

With Boehner facing a major test of his leadership, the While House disparaged the measure he was working so hard to pass. Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada called it “a big wet kiss for the right wing,” and all 51 Senate Democrats and two independents pledged to scuttle it if it cleared the House.

The White House has threatened a veto, saying the bill does not meet President Barack Obama’s demand for an increase in the debt limit large enough to prevent a rerun of the current crisis next year, in the heat of the 2012 election campaign.

Instead, Obama supports an alternative drafted by Reid that also cuts spending, yet provides enough additional borrowing authority to tide the government over through next year.

For all the bluster, there were hints that a compromise might be near.

“Magic things can happen here in Congress in a very short period of time under the right circumstances,” said Reid, the Senate majority leader.

Without legislation in place by Aug. 2, administration officials say the Treasury will not be able to pay all the nation’s bills, possibly triggering a default that could prove catastrophic for an economy still recovering from the worst recession in decades.

Two days after Obama and Boehner made unprecedented back-to-back speeches on national television, there was evidence that the debt crisis was becoming a national cause of concern.

Shawn Bonner of Boerne, Texas, said, “I don’t think the people who are making the decisions live in the same environment we do.” She said of the two sides: “They’ve both dug in their heels for political statements, and we need them to make decisions to help the country.” She was in Tennessee, touring the State Capitol.

The U.S. financial markets posted big losses for the day as political leaders maneuvered. The Dow Jones industrial average fell nearly 200 points and appeared headed for its worst week in nearly a year.

“Confidence in our political system is beginning to fade.” said Channing Smith, managing director of Capital Advisors Inc. “As hours pass and the uncertainty builds, I think the market is starting to price in the potential that we might not have a solution by Aug. 2.”

In Washington, across from the Capitol, a few dozen tea party activists rallied — and appeared as divided as the conservatives in the House. Some issued an online call for Boehner to resign as speaker, while others said he deserved time to try and strike the best deal possible.