Republicans avoid showdown in debt ceiling vote

Feb 12, 2014

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans in the House of Representatives avoided another politically damaging standoff with Democrats over federal spending by agreeing to a vote on increasing the government’s debt limit, averting the threat of a default ahead of November’s congressional elections and handing President Barack Obama a victory.

Republicans were wary and divided after seeing their approval ratings plummet in the wake of last October’s partial government shutdown and threat of a default, which came amid a failed attempt to demand spending cuts and defund Obama’s health care program. The opposition was also heading advice from allies in the business community, who have long pleaded with the party to not to play brinkmanship with the nation’s credit.

House Speaker John Boehner agreed to let Congress vote on a measure to extend U.S. borrowing authority so the government could pay its bills for 13 months without any spending conditions — a “clean bill” that was an unequivocal victory for Obama. It passed 221-201, with only 28 Republican votes. The Senate still has to approve the extension, but that’s considered a mere formality in the Democratic-controlled chamber.

Starting last year, Obama and Democrats in Congress have steadfastly refused to negotiate over giving the Treasury Department the authority to borrow the money it needs to pay bills like Social Security pension benefits, payments on government debt and checks for federal workers.

For Boehner, however, not all was lost. He placed the burden of extending Treasury’s borrowing authority — not a politically popular vote — on the Democrats, and most members of his party got to vote no. It’s a rare move in the House, where the controlling party tends to only advance bills that have the backing of a so-called majority of the majority.

Conservative lawmakers had failed to back a couple of proposed Republican attachments aimed at Obama and his fellow Democrats. One would have approved the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada and the other would have repealed a provision of the health care law. Either of those faced unified Democratic opposition. But conservatives were either determined to vote against the debt ceiling increase, no matter what, or found the provisions too small a price for their vote.

The vote was a sign of how Republicans have become divided while Democrats have remained united since the summer budget negotiations in 2011, when Boehner had insisted that any increase in the U.S. borrowing limit be matched dollar for dollar with spending cuts. It became the “Boehner Rule,” a mantra of fiscal discipline. And while it didn’t always live up to its formula, it helped drive budget talks, bringing Obama to the negotiating table and yielding more than $2 trillion in deficit reduction.

Boehner’s retreat hardly came as a surprise. Instead, Republican leaders have decided to keep the political focus on Obama’s health care law, which they have targeted as a weakness for Democrats in this election year, following the program’s disastrous rollout. Obama’s signature domestic achievement was imperiled when severe technical problems plagued the government’s website after it launched in October.

It was the second time in two weeks that Boehner swept away an issue that threatened to overshadow the Republican attention on health care. He had outlined principles on how to achieve an overhaul of immigration law. But faced with a conservative outcry, Boehner last week dropped the issue, declaring that immigration legislation this year was a long shot.

Republicans trying to take control of the Senate in the November elections have once again made what’s known as Obamacare their top issue, casting it as job killer. They want to use mandates that large employers must provide health insurance to build that case.

“Boehner’s thinking here is we have to pick the smarter fight,” said Kevin Madden, a Republican strategist and former senior congressional leadership aide. “The smarter fight is Obamacare. If we get dragged into a protracted fight over the debt limit, like the one we saw over the government shutdown, it provides a distraction over the bigger issues the party can litigate.”

Conservative, tea party-aligned groups immediately objected to Boehner’s decision, calling it a capitulation and demanding that Republicans vote against the debt ceiling increase.

But among lawmakers, the reaction was muted. When Boehner announced his decision in a private meeting with Republicans, one participant described the reaction as resigned silence. And during scheduled debate on the House floor, Rep. Dave Camp, the chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, was the only Republican to speak, reluctantly giving his support for allowing Treasury to borrow more money.

This all could change if Republicans win control of the Senate in November. Republicans would then control Congress and Obama might have little recourse but to accept some Republican demands.

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