House Scuttles Vote on GOP Fiscal Plan - East Idaho News
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House Scuttles Vote on GOP Fiscal Plan

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GETTY 101513 CapitolEvening?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1381884057324iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — A vote initially scheduled to come Tuesday night on a House Republican plan that funds the government until Dec. 15 and increases the debt limit until Feb. 7 has been called off after several conservative activists signaled they opposed the proposal.

It is unclear whether Republicans have enough votes within their own caucus to pass the measure, and Democrats have pledged not to provide any votes to help pass the latest Republican fiscal proposal.

The GOP plan — the second they have floated in one day — would end the partial government shutdown and raise the debt limit in exchange for eliminating the Treasury Department’s ability to use “extraordinary measures” to temporarily extend the debt limit, and it would prevent congressional and administration staff from receiving government subsidies for health insurance premiums on the exchanges.

This new iteration of the House Republican offer departs from the Senate proposal under consideration by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell because it moves up by one month the date though which the government would be funded and it includes a proposal that could amount to a significant pay cut to members, their staff and administration staff.

But the House GOP plan also does not delay or repeal the medical device tax, a provision in President Obama’s health care law that Democrats want to preserve.

House GOP leaders are struggling to settle on a plan to open the federal government and raise the country’s debt ceiling that would placate the most conservative members of their rank and file, while Senate leaders grow increasingly concerned that the House’s latest actions could stymie a bipartisan agreement they are close to brokering to end the standoff.

An ABC News/Washington Post poll Monday found that dissatisfaction with the party is accelerating. Seventy-four percent of Americans disapprove of the Republicans’ handling of the budget crisis, compared with 63 percent two weeks ago and 70 percent last week.

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