"The leader of a large group of House conservatives said Tuesday he was "confident" there weren't enough GOP lawmakers to pass a plan by Republican House Speaker John Boehner to increase the debt ceiling and reduce the deficit.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R., Ohio), who said the Boehner plan didn't cut spending enough, heads a group that includes 178 of the 240 Republican House lawmakers.
Mr. Jordan, the chairman of the Republican Study Committee, said there weren't 218 House Republicans who would vote for the plan Mr. Boehner released Monday. Mr. Jordan's announcement injects more uncertainty about the endgame of the debt-ceiling drama, as Congress remained deadlocked a week before the government runs out of cash to pay its bills.
In addition to Mr. Jordan, at least five other House Republicans announced their opposition: Reps. Louie Gohmert of Texas, Tom Graves of Georgia, Tim Huelskamp of Kansas, Connie Mack of Florida, and Steve Southerland, also of Florida. Without any Democratic support, Mr. Boehner can only afford to lose 22 votes for his plan to pass the House. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D., Md.) said "very few" Democratic representatives would back the Boehner plan, scheduled for a vote Wednesday.
Mr. Boehner's plan would cut the deficit by at least $3 trillion over 10 years while raising the debt ceiling in two stages. By contrast, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) is advocating a proposal to increase the debt ceiling by $2.7 trillion, which would enable the government to cover its bills through 2012, while cutting spending by a similar amount. But his package would require the support of seven Republicans to reach the Senate's 60-vote threshold, and it isn't clear if those votes are there.
The vote counting intensified after President Barack Obama, in a prime-time national address Monday, warned the U.S. was on the brink of a default that could trigger an economic upheaval. "We are left with a stalemate," he said. Without a resolution, "We would risk sparking a deep economic crisis—this one caused almost entirely by Washington"...............READ MORE
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