As Washington begins to digest the bipartisan deal to hike the debt limit, one thing that’s clear that it will set up an obvious intra-conservative battle between defense hawks and the anti-tax crowd.
On a number of occasions this week, I've noted that defense spending was likely to be one of the major stumbling blocks to a final deal, with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, hundreds of billions apart when it came to cuts. Here's how they ended up resolving the issue.
#5) "So let’s be honest. I need a dance partner here -- and the floor is empty." - President Barack Obama
There's only one thing to do Mr. President, when you find yourself alone on the dance floor.
House Speaker John Boehner's office has released excerpts of his pitch to House Republicans tonight on the deal he struck with Senate Democrats and President Obama:
President Obama announced moments ago that Congressional leaders in both parties have reached a deal to raise the debt limit.
Just before he took the stage, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., touted the deal on the Senate floor.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has been distributing this slide presentation to sell the deal to his members.
Despite recent optimism, there are still significant obstacles to overcome before Congress reaches an agreement to cut spending and raise the debt ceiling. Like any other bill, both House and Senate have to pass precisely the same measure before it can be sent to the president, and that won't be easy. In the House, some Democrats will undoubtedly oppose the bill from the left, and as far as Republicans are concerned, it seems likely that many more than the 22 GOP lawmakers who vot
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Sunday that both parties may be close to an agreement on raising the debt limit, but that they weren't quite there yet.
For those who have high school or college-age kids, this video produced by Wilson Getchell as an entry in Powerline's recent contest for the Power Line Prize lays out the stakes of the debt-ceiling debate in about as stark and factual terms as possible, but does so in a very entertaining way.
Once Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s bill loses the upcoming 1 am cloture vote, there will officially be no active debt limit bills in Congress. This means that in the coming days, leaders of both parties will have to hash out a compromise that will be able to pass both chambers before the Aug. 2 deadline to raise the debt limit. I thought it would be worthwhile to lay out the major stumbling blocks to a deal that we’re likely to be hearing about.
