Debt Crisis Update: Vote on Boehner’s Debt Plan Delayed

A debt plan introduced by House Speaker John Boehner was set for vote on Thursday night until it was postponed due to disagreements within the Republican camp. The delayed vote represents the ongoing struggles within Congress to come to an agreement on how to manage the breached debt limit and avoid an impending default.

Debt Ceiling Vote Potentially Moved to Friday

After numerous debt plan proposals had been drawn up by various Congress members and shot down by opposing parties, Boehner (R-OH) developed a plan with Republican members that he wanted to push through the House of Representatives without Democratic support.

The only problem is that the vote did not garner enough support from Boehner’s own party to make it to a House vote.

His measure would provide an immediate $900 billion debt ceiling increase while chopping spending by $917 billion. Afterward, it would allow President Barack Obama to seek a second $1.6 trillion installment of borrowing authority if Congress was able to enact another law by Christmas to slash deficits by $1.8 trillion.

Tea party-backed conservatives strongly disagreed with this plan, complaining that it would only set the stage for another debt-limit showdown early next year. Also, they said it wouldn’t do enough to shrink the size of government.

Their complaints made it clear that his plan would never pass in the Democrat-run Senate if party members didn’t like it. However, Boehner declared that he would get his bill approved.

Democrats Want Republicans to Make Bipartisan Effort

Democrats have been vocal about their disapproval of Boehner’s plan, promising that it would be “dead on arrival” as soon as it reached the Senate.

Party member Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has asked Boehner and Republican members to begin renegotiating with Democrats to “negotiate a bipartisan, balanced agreement.”

Both the House and Senate are expected to work through the week to come to an agreement on the debt plan, hopefully before next week. Officials say there are ongoing talks behind the scenes to develop a backup plan to avoid default.

In addition to public pleas from Obama, a recent CNN/ORC International Poll found that the majority of participants in both parties desperately want the parties to make a decision to avoid an inevitable financial crisis.

While party members have their preferences–both parties want the debt ceiling raised while Republicans are clear that they don’t want taxes increased–they mostly hope that lawmakers can develop a plan that will pass and ultimately resolve this issue.