This thing
ain’t done yet.
Speaker John
Boehner is leaving the fate of the Senate-passed fiscal cliff deal in the hands
of the House Republican Conference.
House
Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy’s
(R-Calif.) vote-counting operation is kicking
into full gear on Tuesday night — after the country has officially gone off the
cliff — to gauge whether 218 Republicans would support amending the Senate bill
with a package of spending cuts
If there
aren’t enough House Republicans who vote to tack on spending cuts, the House
will hold an up-or-down vote on the Senate cliff bill that hikes tax rates on
income over $450,000.
But an
amendment is not expected garner 218 Republicans and the Senate bill will
likely come up for a vote on Tuesday evening. If that passes, the Senate bill
would likely pass the House — with the heavy help of House Democrats — paving
the way for the cliff deal to become law, as President Barack Obama has said he
would sign it.
If the
Senate deal was amended, it would prolong the cliff crisis as Senate Democrats
have said they won’t take up an amended bill. Senate Minority Leader Mitch
McConnell (R-Ky.) and Vice President Joe Biden reached a deal that was passed
by the Senate early Tuesday morning, and without an agreement, the nation’s
recovering economy could be shaken by hiking tax rates on all Americans and
maintaining steep federal spending cuts.
The Tuesday
evening move is classic Boehner — he always says he wants the House Republican
Conference to work its will, and he’s letting the 241 members decide the fate
of tax rates for all Americans.
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