At a meeting this morning in the Capitol, House Republican leaders unveiled an amended debt limit plan. National Journal has the latest text of the plan, but what has Republicans more confident that it will pass the House is the inclusion of a plan to with balanced budget amendment (BBA) proposals. As John McCormack reported, this latest development seemed to turn Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) from a no vote to a yes, and several other members of congress told reporters as they exited this morning’s meeting that they felt “confident” Boehner had the votes to pass the plan.
“I’m cautiously optimistic we’ll have the votes today,” said Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio). Was the inclusion of the BBA the deciding factor with those opposed to the original Boehner plan? “I think that’s certainly part of it,” Chabot said. “I preferred having that in there and I think Cut, Cap, and Balance was the best plan that I’ve seen so far. I think that’s a good addition.”
“Look, if it gives some of my colleagues some of the security they’ve been looking for, I think it’s great,” said Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.). “I think it makes it stronger.”
No members could confirm a time for the vote, though most said they were confident it would occur today.
Philip Klein argues that including the BBA makes the latest version of the Boehner plan meaningless:
The main selling point for the Boehner plan, if there was one, was that whatever the Senate Democratic opposition, it at least was within the general ballpark of something that had a reasonable chance of becoming law. And there was the hope that if his plan passed, Democrats might fold. But the addition of the new BBA takes this selling point away.
Read the whole thing here.
