The U.S. House has passed Speaker John Boehner's debt ceiling proposal. At least 22 Republicans voted "nay" with the Democrats, and no Democrats voted for the Boehner proposal.
The final tally was 218 for and 210 against.
This version, according to Townhall Political Editor Guy Benson, contains these key elements highlighted by Boehner's office:
- Bill currently has a two-step process for raising the debt ceiling.
- As currently written, before POTUS can request second tranche of increased debt authority, Select Committee must produce spending cuts larger than the debt hike.
- Change to bill would specify that before POTUS can request second tranche of debt authority, Select Committee must produce spending cuts larger than the hike AND a Balanced Budget Amendment must be sent to the states.
It's reported that Sen. Harry Reid will table the Boehner bill on arrival in the Senate.
As displayed by the 22 GOP "nay" votes, not all Republicans were on board with the latest GOP offering. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, who chairs the conservative caucus in the House known as the Republican Study Committe, voted "nay." Republican Rep. Paul Broun of Georgia released this statement on his vote against:
“I cannot in good conscience vote for a bill that puts the future of my grandchildren and of generations to come in jeopardy. While I respect my Republican colleagues’ efforts to come up with a compromise, the people in the 10th Congressional District of Georgia did not send me to Washington to follow the herd. They sent me here to protect their liberty and to fundamentally change the way our federal government spends their money. I do support a Balanced Budget Amendment, but I do not support raising the debt ceiling and allowing President Obama to put more debt on the backs of the American people."
Meanwhile, Broun's Georgia and GOP colleague Rep. Tom Price voted for the legislation and called for support of a Balanced Budget Amendment.
"This evening, we passed legislation that cuts spending now and limits spending in the years ahead," Price's statement said.
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