WASHINGTON — As a crucial vote neared, Republican leaders pleaded with their fractious rank and file Thursday to support a House plan to stave off an unprecedented government default. Many of the chamber’s GOP freshmen, crucial to passage, were climbing aboard, but leaders weren’t ready to claim victory.
If the House approved the bill, it would bring President Barack Obama and congressional leaders a step closer to endgame efforts for a debt-limit solution before Tuesday’s deadlin
Republicans are seeking deep spending cuts in exchange for raising the nation’s $14.3 trillion debt limit to allow the government to keep paying its bills. The White House has threatened to veto the GOP bill if it makes it through the Democratic-controlled Senate. Still, getting the newly modified House plan passed on Thursday was seen as an important step toward finding a compromise — possibly in the Senate.
Rival plans by House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid have enough in common — including the establishment of a special congressional panel to recommend additional spending cuts this fall — that Reid has hinted a compromise could be achievable.
As debate got under way in the House, Reid said the Senate would vote on the GOP bill as soon as the House finished late Thursday — and predicted it would fail in his chamber.
“No Democrat will vote for a short-term Band-Aid that would put our economy at risk and put the nation back in this untenable situation a few short months from now,” Reid said.
Earlier in the day, in a closed-door GOP meeting, Boehner, R-Ohio, made headway in securing the 217 votes necessary to pass his plan. No Democrats were expected to support it. Boehner told the Republicans he expected to round up enough votes but was not there yet.
“But today is the day,” he said, according to people in the room.
At an early afternoon news conference, Boehner said the bill wasn’t perfect but was a “sincere and honest way to end this crisis.”
“This bill is as large a step as we’re able to take at this point in time that is doable and signable and to become law,” he said.
Standing with Boehner, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who counts the votes, offered no numbers, simply saying they were moving in the right direction.
The bill passed an early hurdle as the House voted 238-186 along party lines to move forward on the legislation.
Some lawmakers were climbing behind it, though sometimes grudgingly.
“I think it’s the best deal we can get,” said Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, who said he had dropped his opposition. Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., said he would back the measure to ensure that Boehner “has a seat at the table” for the final negotiations.
Critical to Boehner is support from his chamber’s 87 freshmen, who lifted the GOP to its House majority last November, many of them with tea party support from the right. More than a dozen freshmen told reporters that a significant number of their class were now backing Boehner’s plan
“It is not a perfect plan, certainly, but it is a good step forward,” said Rep. Tim Griffin, R-Ark., one of the newcomers.
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