House Republicans have submitted a revised short-term proposal to raise the federal debt ceiling and reopen the government, offering President Obama another option Friday as he hosted Senate Republicans at the White House in an effort to build on the first signs of bipartisan progress on the issues.
While Senate Republicans met with Obama over how to deal with next week’s debt-ceiling deadline and the 11-day-old federal government shutdown, House Republicans waited to hear back from the administration about the proposal they submitted late Thursday to increase the debt limit and end the shutdown.
Share how intensely the shutdown has affected you, and read about people's experiences with the shutdown across the nation.
Read more:
Lori Montgomery and Paul Kane
Session follows earlier meetings with other lawmakers, signs of progress in bitter spending showdown.
Paul Kane
Bipartisan talks continue as Obama hosts Senate Republicans at the White House.
Marc Fisher and Holly Yeager
Even as the effects spread, though, the impact remains elusive to many across the nation.
Chris Cillizza and Sean Sullivan
When political parties look political to the public, they lose.
Get the latest news on the budget fight and a possible government shutdown in this daily newsletter.
The House GOP’s original proposal addressed only the debt ceiling, but the revised plan deals with both the debt limit and the shutdown.
Under the new proposal, the House would vote as soon as Friday evening on a plan to raise the debt limit through Nov. 20 — the week before Thanksgiving — to create space for talks over broader budget issues. Republicans have also offered to reopen the government as soon as next week in a bill that would replace some of the deep budget cuts known as the sequester with cuts to entitlement programs, including Medicare, according to people familiar with the proposal who spoke on condition of anonymity. Replacing the sequester is a top Democratic priority, while cutting entitlement programs is a leading GOP priority. But details of the proposals were murky, and there was no clear quid pro quo linking one priority to the other.
Once the government reopens, House Republicans want Obama to enter negotiations over a longer-term debt-limit increase. In those talks, a House GOP leadership aide said, Boehner would demand that Obama address “the real drivers of our debt and deficits, including the president’s health-care law.”
Aides to House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) declined to comment on details of the latest offer.
“As we have publicly stated, any House vote on a short-term debt limit bill is contingent on the White House and House Republicans agreeing to negotiations on a larger fiscal framework,” said Michael Steel, a spokesman for Boehner. “There is no agreement at this point on what that framework would involve, and we don’t plan to comment on the details of these discussions.”
Senate Republicans are proposing a starkly different approach, however, and it was unclear Friday which path the White House would choose.
Talks between Obama and House Republicans on Thursday about a GOP-backed plan to lift the federal borrowing limit through late November raised hopes that Washington would avert its first default on the national debt.
But the two sides remained at odds over how and when to end the government shutdown, with Obama insisting that Republicans reopen federal agencies before negotiations over broader budget issues can begin.
[Read the latest updates on the shutdown and debt crisis.]
In the Senate, top Republicans have begun crafting a proposal that would reopen the government and raise the federal debt limit for as long as three months — an approach closer to the terms Obama has set to end the standoff.
While Senate Republicans met with Obama over how to deal with next week’s debt-ceiling deadline and the 11-day-old federal government shutdown, House Republicans waited to hear back from the administration about the proposal they submitted late Thursday to increase the debt limit and end the shutdown.
Share how intensely the shutdown has affected you, and read about people's experiences with the shutdown across the nation.Read more:
Lori Montgomery and Paul Kane Session follows earlier meetings with other lawmakers, signs of progress in bitter spending showdown.
Paul Kane Bipartisan talks continue as Obama hosts Senate Republicans at the White House.
Marc Fisher and Holly Yeager Even as the effects spread, though, the impact remains elusive to many across the nation.
Chris Cillizza and Sean Sullivan When political parties look political to the public, they lose.
Get the latest news on the budget fight and a possible government shutdown in this daily newsletter.The House GOP’s original proposal addressed only the debt ceiling, but the revised plan deals with both the debt limit and the shutdown.
Under the new proposal, the House would vote as soon as Friday evening on a plan to raise the debt limit through Nov. 20 — the week before Thanksgiving — to create space for talks over broader budget issues. Republicans have also offered to reopen the government as soon as next week in a bill that would replace some of the deep budget cuts known as the sequester with cuts to entitlement programs, including Medicare, according to people familiar with the proposal who spoke on condition of anonymity. Replacing the sequester is a top Democratic priority, while cutting entitlement programs is a leading GOP priority. But details of the proposals were murky, and there was no clear quid pro quo linking one priority to the other.
Once the government reopens, House Republicans want Obama to enter negotiations over a longer-term debt-limit increase. In those talks, a House GOP leadership aide said, Boehner would demand that Obama address “the real drivers of our debt and deficits, including the president’s health-care law.”
Aides to House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) declined to comment on details of the latest offer.
“As we have publicly stated, any House vote on a short-term debt limit bill is contingent on the White House and House Republicans agreeing to negotiations on a larger fiscal framework,” said Michael Steel, a spokesman for Boehner. “There is no agreement at this point on what that framework would involve, and we don’t plan to comment on the details of these discussions.”
Senate Republicans are proposing a starkly different approach, however, and it was unclear Friday which path the White House would choose.
Talks between Obama and House Republicans on Thursday about a GOP-backed plan to lift the federal borrowing limit through late November raised hopes that Washington would avert its first default on the national debt.
But the two sides remained at odds over how and when to end the government shutdown, with Obama insisting that Republicans reopen federal agencies before negotiations over broader budget issues can begin.
[Read the latest updates on the shutdown and debt crisis.]
In the Senate, top Republicans have begun crafting a proposal that would reopen the government and raise the federal debt limit for as long as three months — an approach closer to the terms Obama has set to end the standoff.