Debt Ceiling

Dems: Boehner Renewed Debt Limit Fight Because He's In Thrall To Far Right

Brian Beutler | May 15, 2012, 12:11PM

Democrats are horrified, but not exactly shocked, that House Speaker John Boehner plans to tee up a new debt limit fight.

In his weekly press briefing with reporters, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer attributed the development to Boehner's weak grip on his party.

"Let me say that the dollar-for-dollar [requirement] led to the sequester which none of us like," Hoyer said. "So while it sounds good, the execution of that principle does not seem to be very disciplined. We need to have a big, bold, balanced deal. The Speaker, in my view, believes that as well. The Speaker's party does not believe in balance....We don't adopt their priorities."

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Bowles-Simpson

House Crushes Bowles-Simpson Budget

Sahil Kapur | March 29, 2012, 9:25AM

A budget resolution based on the work of President Obama's bipartisan fiscal commission went down in flames Wednesday night in the House.

A version of the Bowles-Simpson budget -- the commission never found the majority needed to report out an official one -- was defeated 38-382. The measure was offered by Reps. Jim Cooper (D-TN) and Steve LaTourette (R-OH) in the run-up to Thursday's vote on the GOP's updated blueprint written by House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan.

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Steny Hoyer

Dem, GOP Leaders Renew Push For Major Deficit Legislation

Brian Beutler | March 9, 2012, 5:30AM

Under fire from progressives for working with Republicans on legislation that would likely cut entitlements and raise taxes, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer told reporters Thursday he thinks there's an imperative to address long-run budget deficits rationally, before the end of the election, in a way that doesn't end the explicit guarantees of key government programs.

In a roundtable with reporters in his Capitol office, Hoyer said the group's still a long way from achieving broad consensus, but sought to reassure critics, constituents and other observers that he opposes the GOP's radical entitlement proposals.

"I want to emphasize, because I get beat up on, I'm for the Medicare guarantee, I'm not for a Paul Ryan alternative that eliminates the guarantee," he said. "[Some claim] I've said we ought to raise the age. I haven't said that. What I've said is I think everything ought to be on the table."

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Nancy Pelosi

Pelosi Mocks 'Meager' Bipartisan 'JOBS' Bill (VIDEO)

Brian Beutler | March 8, 2012, 4:45PM

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

It's made headlines in the New York Times, received prominent coverage from the cable nets, and by and large been a messaging coup for House Republicans. The House of Representatives on Thursday overwhelmingly passed GOP-backed legislation called the JOBS [Jump Start Our Business Startups] Act. It's a modest bill, comprised of several measures that have already passed the House by wide margins, aimed at promoting capital formation.

But Democrats aren't celebrating. They think the bill is perfectly fine, but more of a public relations stunt than a real prescription for economic growth. And on Capitol Hill, Dem leaders are quick to remind reporters that just because it's called JOBS, doesn't make it's a tremendous legislative achievement.

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Steny Hoyer

Hoyer: If The Economy Improves, We'll Retake The House

Brian Beutler | March 8, 2012, 1:34PM

Steny Hoyer speaks at press conference with House Ways and Means Committee Democrats. November 30, 2011.

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer -- a top Democratic fundraiser and recruiter -- says Republican disarray and an improving economy can put the House of Representatives back into his party's hands.

"I think our chances are reasonably good that we can retake back the House," Hoyer told a select group of reporters in his Capitol office. "And if the economy continues to perform as it's performed, I think we will back the House."

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Steny Hoyer

Progressives Petition Hoyer Against Safety Net Cuts

Brian Beutler | March 8, 2012, 8:33AM

Progressives are escalating their campaign to warn House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer off cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, as he quietly pursues significant deficit reducing legislation with members of both parties. On Thursday, they will deliver 148,000 petitions to his Capitol offices.

"Representative Hoyer is hearing from thousands of Americans letting him know that we will not stand for any back room deal that puts cuts to Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security benefits on the table," said Becky Bond, Political Director of CREDO Action, an online advocacy group. "[W]orking with Republicans on a deal which will preemptively cave on cuts to our social safety net is not acceptable from the second most powerful Democratic Leader in the House of Representatives."

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Steny Hoyer

Hoyer Unleashes Stinging Rebuke Of Rush Limbaugh

Sahil Kapur | March 6, 2012, 1:20PM

A rare apology from Rush Limbaugh has done little to quell the uproar over the radio host's "slut" comment from last week -- and Democrats are working hard to keep it that way.

At his weekly pen and pad, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) launched into an unprompted rebuke of Limbaugh for calling Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke a "slut" and "prostitute" for her recent testimony contraception and health insurance.

"I want to speak about an issue which was as outrageous an attack as I've seen recently," Hoyer told reporters Tuesday. "Rush Limbaugh's attack on Sandra Fluke was beyond the pale. Indefensible. Vicious. Intimidating to others. ... And it demeans the public faith."

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Steny Hoyer

Progressive Advocacy Group Targets Hoyer Over Potential Entitlement Cuts

Brian Beutler | March 1, 2012, 1:38PM

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) And Rep. John Conyers (D-MI)

The online, progressive advocacy group CREDO Action is targeting a top House Democrat and a leading advocate of far-reaching deficit reduction legislation, including both higher taxes and cuts to popular support programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.

In a Monday speech, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer revealed that he's working with a bipartisan coalition of House and Senate members to fashion a "grand bargain" on deficits, in the hope of addressing the issue -- and possibly even passing legislation -- before the November elections.

Hoyer's made no secret of the fact that he wants to see significant long-term deficit reduction, in programs that put everything, including entitlements and taxes, on the table. Progressives worry that such entitlement cuts will undermine the integrity of the programs and are warning Hoyer and Democratic members to tread cautiously. The subtext here, and the source of CREDO's leverage, is that Hoyer may -- a big may -- need progressive help in a future leadership fight, if Democrats take the majority, or Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi retires, or another shakeup occurs in the Democratic ranks.

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Steny Hoyer

Hoyer Working Behind The Scenes On Major Deficit Reduction Bill

Brian Beutler | February 27, 2012, 12:53PM

Steny Hoyer speaks at press conference with House Ways and Means Committee Democrats. November 30, 2011.

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) is looking to shake legislative politics out of unconsciousness as early as this spring, and force a vote on a bipartisan legislative proposal - which would include higher taxes and cuts to federal programs -- to reduce deficits by trillions of dollars over the coming years.

The push is intended to disrupt the consensus among most political leaders that Congress will punt budget consolidation efforts until after November -- when the election returns are in, and the January 1, 2013 expiry of the Bush tax cuts and deep across-the-board spending cuts make real action inevitable.

In a speech hosted Monday morning by Third Way, Hoyer revealed that he and other lawmakers are looking for the right moment to introduce a bill that would achieve the sorts of deficit reduction goals that have eluded Congress and the White House thus far.

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Payroll Tax Cut

Winners And Losers Of The Payroll Tax Cut Debacle

Sahil Kapur | February 23, 2012, 2:39PM

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden

President Obama signed the payroll tax cut package into law late Wednesday night, capping off a months-long saga that might prove to be Congress's last major battle before the 2012 election. So just what does the final outcome mean for the various political players? Here's how things broadly broke down.

President Obama is the obvious winner, having portrayed himself throughout the long fight as the champion of middle-class tax cuts and economic security for the long-term unemployed. The payroll battle, which played out alongside a gradually improving economy, helped bump up Obama's approval ratings and gave him an important political weapon for re-election.

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Payroll Tax Cut

Last-Minute Fights Slow Down Payroll Tax Cut Deal

Brian Beutler and Sahil Kapur | February 15, 2012, 11:31AM

Rep. John Boehner (R-OH)

Barring an unexpected collapse in negotiations, a broad deal to extend the temporary payroll tax cut and other expiring measures will be finalized Wednesday. But with time winding down, top Democrats and Republicans are still fighting over key details -- particularly how to pay for over $50 billion of the approximately $150 billion package.

One of the likely financing provisions would require federal workers to provide greater contributions to their own retirement packages.

"I'm very unhappy with the projected pay-fors which hit average working Americans, otherwise known as federal employees, pretty hard," House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) told TPM and one other reporter in the Capitol Wednesday. "I don't know the exact details and the exact details are being worked on. So from that standpoint I'm not happy."

Hoyer represents a Maryland district that's chockablock with federal workers, which underlies his concerns. Asked if he himself planned to vote for the measure, Hoyer proclaimed "I don't know."

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Harry Reid

As Payroll Fight Wraps Up, Dems Prepare For Next Battle

Brian Beutler | February 14, 2012, 3:47PM

House Democrats will support a GOP bill to extend the expiring payroll tax cut through the end of the year, when Republicans bring it to a vote later this week. That basically puts to rest any remaining doubts that the provision will expire at the end of the month.

Now the fight is on between the parties over whether and how to renew two other expiring provisions -- extended unemployment benefits, and Medicare physician reimbursement rates (the "doc fix") -- before March. And the balance of power in this battle is much less clear.

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Budget

The Truth Behind The GOP's '1000 Days Without A Budget' Canard

Brian Beutler | February 14, 2012, 10:17AM

Harry Reid (D-NV) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

Turn on any cable news channel this week and you'll very likely hear a top Republican froth in anger over the fact that Senate Democrats haven't passed a budget in more than 1000 days.

This particular talking point has been around for months -- long before the Senate crossed the 1000 days threshold. Now that it's budget season, Republicans hope it pops, filters up into mainstream news coverage, and sows doubt in the minds of voters who don't understand the Congressional budget process, and don't realize how unimportant, and in most crucial respects false, the line is. Alternatively, they hope Senate Dems get spooked and move ahead with a budget document that exposes their differences and leaves them open to political attack -- but has no impact on policy whatsoever.

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Payroll Tax Cut

Dems: GOP Bet On Bad Economy Creating Payroll Tax Cut Gridlock

Brian Beutler | February 7, 2012, 4:03PM

Democrats are emboldened enough by their political turn of fortune that party leaders are laying payroll tax cut contretemps at the feet of Republicans rooting for further economic strife.

"[W]e've seen improvement: The unemployment rate's going down; people are getting back to work; there's a more confident air in America," Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) told reporters Tuesday at a leadership briefing with reporters on Capitol Hill. "Let's make no mistake: There's some Republicans that don't think that really works with their strategy of defeating President Obama. These are some of the same voices that are opposing any bipartisan agreement to extend the payroll tax cuts."

Other top Democrats say the same.

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Keystone XL

Hoyer Sees Potential For Cooperation On Keystone

Brian Beutler | January 31, 2012, 2:07PM

Steny Hoyer speaks at press conference with House Ways and Means Committee Democrats. November 30, 2011.

If Republicans drop their political motivations for pursuing the Keystone XL pipeline, they'll find a sympathetic ear in House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer.

The second most powerful Democrat in the House suggested on Tuesday that both the will and the legislative vehicles exist to move forward on Keystone in a bipartisan fashion if Republicans attach it to forthcoming infrastructure legislation in away that allows the administration to fully assess the project's merits as required under existing law.

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Payroll Tax Cut

McConnell To House GOP On Payroll Tax: It's Over

Brian Beutler | December 22, 2011, 11:05AM

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) conducts a news conference along with fellow GOP members on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on November 30, 2011.

As gently as he could, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) just called on House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) to cave and pass the Senate's payroll tax cut compromise.

But make no mistake: McConnell has essentially pulled the rug out from under his counterparts in the House as the political price Republicans are paying for reneging on the deal struck with Democrats has steepened dramatically.

Read the full statement below, but the key is here:

"Leader Reid should appoint conferees on the long-term bill and the House should pass an extension that locks in the thousands of Keystone XL pipeline jobs, prevents any disruption in the payroll tax holiday or other expiring provisions, and allows Congress to work on a solution for the longer extensions."

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Payroll Tax Cut

Watch GOPer Literally Walk Out On Dem Attempt To Push Payroll Tax Cut

Brian Beutler | December 21, 2011, 11:14AM

Steny Hoyer speaks at press conference with House Ways and Means Committee Democrats. November 30, 2011.

While Republican leaders gathered in Speaker John Boehner's Capitol office Wednesday morning for a photo op with reporters -- hectoring Democrats and making the case that they're on the right side of the payroll tax fight -- an unusual scene played out on the House floor.

In an attempt to illustrate just who's at fault for the payroll tax stalemate Minority Whip Steny Hoyer showed up to ask for a vote on the Senate's compromise bill. Republicans could have simply objected and given Hoyer his talking point. Instead they gave him so much more.

Republicans just ignored Hoyer and refused to hear his unanimous consent request. The fill-in Speaker simply walked away.

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Payroll Tax Cut

House GOP Passes Payroll Tax Cut Bill Obama Has Threatened To Veto

Brian Beutler | December 13, 2011, 6:53PM

Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)

Despite loud warnings from Senate Democrats and a veto threat from President Obama because of poison pills within the text, House Republicans Tuesday passed legislation to renew a 2 percent payroll tax holiday and extended unemployment benefits of one more year.

The bill passed 234 - 193, with 10 Democrats joining with the Republicans and 14 Republicans pitching in with the Dems.

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Payroll Tax Cut

Dems To GOP: Deal Fairly On Payroll Tax Or Shut Down The Government

Brian Beutler | December 13, 2011, 1:05PM

Senate Democrats and the White House are executing a strategy to prevent House Republicans from jamming them with legislation to extend the current payroll tax cut that's been larded up with GOP goodies, according to White House and Congressional aides. For all practical purposes, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has linked the payroll tax issue -- and other key end-of-the-year issues -- with legislation to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year. And he's presenting Republicans with a choice: deal in good faith on the payroll tax issue, or trigger a government shutdown.

Democrats were worried that House Republicans would close ranks around a version of a payroll holiday that included both must-pass items (such as an extension of unemployment insurance and a patch to prevent Medicare physicians from experiencing a severe pay cut on the first of the year) and GOP poison pills (including a provision forcing the Obama administration to give thumbs-up or thumbs-down to the Keystone XL oil pipeline within 60 days)...then pass it and skip town, leaving Democrats little choice but to swallow their bill whole.

That's exactly the strategy they tried to execute -- and until late Monday it looked like it might work.

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Nancy Pelosi

Nancy Pelosi Games Out The Long Fight Over Medicare And The Rest Of The Safety Net

Brian Beutler | December 7, 2011, 4:45AM

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi

Eight months is a long time in politics, but it will be eight months ago next week that House Republicans voted overwhelmingly for a budget that envisioned a massively scaled-down social safety net -- a smaller, privatized health care system for old people, to replace traditional Medicare; Medicaid financially constrained, and handed over to state governments; cuts to various other support programs that benefit the poor, the young, and the elderly.

That didn't sit well with voters. And in the months that followed, Republicans tried to contain the fallout by making federal deficits a central political issue while forcing Democrats to agree to real cuts to these programs -- all while refusing themselves to raise taxes, even on the very wealthiest Americans.

This too didn't go according to plan. The GOP upheld its vow not to raise taxes; Democrats insisted new tax revenue was a criterion for cutting benefits; and Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security avoided the scalpel.

At least for now.

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Balanced Budget Amendment

House Dems Kill GOP Balanced Budget Amendment

Brian Beutler | November 18, 2011, 1:58PM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)

A Constitutional amendment that would forbid Congress from running deficits failed in the House Friday, thanks to broad opposition by Democrats, who recognized it as a GOP messaging vehicle, and a tool they'd use to roll back safety net programs like Medicare and Social Security.

The final vote, was 261 - 165. Two-thirds of both chambers must agree to adopt any amendment to the Constitution. Both the House and the Senate are required under the terms of the debt limit law to hold a vote on a version of the BBA.

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Super Committee

Hoyer Optimistic Super Committee Will Succeed -- Even Though GOP Way Off The Mark On Taxes

Brian Beutler | November 15, 2011, 12:22PM

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) And Rep. John Conyers (D-MI)

It's hard to reconcile Steny Hoyer's optimism about the Super Committee with his own assessment of the GOP's allergy to tax increases.

The top Democratic vote counter in the House says he thinks that far-reaching legislation to reduce deficits over 10 years can both pass the lower chamber and meet the terms of President Obama's veto threat -- that every dollar of cuts to Medicare benefits must be matched by a dollar in new revenue taken from wealthier Americans. But it's hard to square that with the facts on the ground.

At his weekly Capitol briefing with reporters I asked Hoyer if deficit Super Committee legislation that meets President Obama's standard could pass the House.

"Yes I do," Hoyer said. "I think that if we work together in a bipartisan way, as frankly we have on all the fiscal issues that before the Congress in the House of Representatives: The first CR, the second CR, the debt limit.... I think it can, with bipartisan votes."

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Steny Hoyer

Hoyer: GOP Too Irresponsible To Manage A Balanced Budget Amendment

Brian Beutler | November 15, 2011, 12:07PM

House Republicans are painting Democrats like Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) as hypocrites for opposing a Constitutional Balanced Budget Amendment set for a Friday floor vote -- even though they voted to send an identical amendment off to the states for ratification in 1995.

In his weekly briefing with reporters Tuesday, Hoyer offered a comprehensive defense of his change of heart and argued that Republicans have proved too irresponsible to steward a country that is required by its Constitution to maintain balanced budgets every year.

"Since I voted in January of '95 a lot of things have happened," Hoyer said.

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Balanced Budget Amendment

Despite Packed Agenda, Congress Returns To Radical Balanced Budget Amendment

Brian Beutler | November 14, 2011, 6:01AM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Houser Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA)

Congress is busy. It has to extend federal funding for all federal agencies before November 18, or else the government will shut down, and the deficit Super Committee has to recommend a big package of budget cuts to the House and Senate by November 23, or set in motion dramatic automatic spending cuts to defense programs and Medicare providers. But it's still suffering a hangover from the debt limit fight. And so this week House GOP leaders will fulfill one of the terms of the debt limit law, and appease some conservatives, by holding a vote on a Constitutional Balanced Budget Amendment.

There's a bit of a strife among Republicans -- and even among some Democrats -- over the details of such an amendment. But almost any version would constitute a radical policy shift for the country, and threaten key safety net programs as the country ages and the cost of health care soars. It would lead to dramatic swings in U.S. fiscal policy, and at a time of high unemployment, would cost the economy dearly.

Don't believe me, here's what analysts at Macroeconomic Advisers said about it.

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Government Shutdown

Democrats Demand Boehner Avert Government Shutdown Threat

Brian Beutler | November 1, 2011, 10:57AM

Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and the vast majority of House Democrats have signed a letter to Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) pushing him to strip partisan policy riders out of must-pass legislation to fund the government after the money runs out later this month.

Yes, here we go again. House Republicans are advancing appropriations bills loaded with controversial measures that would defund the new health care law, scrap key environmental protections and more.

"As you know, there is longstanding precedent not to use appropriations bills to enact major changes in national policy, and the bills being reported from Appropriations subcommittees this year violate that precedent," wrote Hoyer in a letter signed by 182 other Democrats. "While not all policy riders are objectionable, many of those included this year are not only controversial but blatantly partisan. Included riders would block the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, roll back important clean air and clean water protections, and place new restrictions on women's access to a full range of medical and health services, among others."

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Super Committee

Hoyer To Super Committee: Go Big, Or We'll Come Back For Round Two

Brian Beutler | October 25, 2011, 2:16PM

The 12 members of the deficit Super Committee have been so tight lipped about their negotiations, that most of the clues about their progress come from Congressional colleagues -- most of whom are also in the dark about specifics.

At his weekly Capitol briefing Tuesday, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) had a hard time pegging the panel's chances for reaching an agreement to achieve trillions of dollars in deficit reduction. But he insisted that if the panel failed to achieve significant savings, Congress will have to keep chipping away.

"People ask me, 'Are you optimistic?' I say, 'Look, I'm not optimistic -- I'm hopeful,'" Hoyer said. "I hope, because I think it's absolutely essential that we do so, that we succeed. Producing a product that is a big deal, not a small deal -- if we do a small deal, we'll have to revisit that."

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Abortion

Dems Slam GOP For Pushing Abortion Bill Instead Of Job Creation

Susan Crabtree | October 13, 2011, 12:32PM

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

Democrats are condemning a House GOP attempt to prevent President Obama's health care law from paying for abortions as an assault on women and a waste of precious legislative time when Americans are demanding action on the economy and job creation.

"First of all, it's not a jobs bill. What are we doing but wasting time?" Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told reporters Thursday. "Every woman in America should be concerned about this assault on women's health."

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Harry Reid

Dems Seek Unity On Obama Jobs Bill...By Changing It

Brian Beutler | October 4, 2011, 12:54PM

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

The story Republicans in the House and Senate tell right now is that President Obama is traveling the country demanding Congress vote on his jobs bill when part of the problem is here in Washington, D.C. with his own party.

It's dead on arrival as far as Republican leadership is concerned, but it also lacks unanimous support among Democrats. And since the Senate is the one body Democrats control, that's creating a bit of dissonance. Obama says vote on the bill, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) doesn't have the votes, and, if he put it on the floor today, he'd probably lose a handful or more Democrats.

That would invite Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to reprise his oft-repeated line that the only thing bipartisan about President Obama's jobs bill is the opposition to it. And that's something Reid wants to avoid.

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Government Shutdown

Shutdown Fight Ends Quietly On Capitol Hill

Brian Beutler | September 27, 2011, 10:27AM

President Barack Obama meets with Republican and Democratic leaders

Word comes from the Democratic Whip's office that the House of Representatives will quietly extend government funding on Tuesday, and then again, for a longer stretch, when the House returns from recess next week.

No muss, no fuss. Though House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) will lose a big chunk of his caucus on the vote, the fight, for all intents and purposes, appears to be over.

On the Senate floor Monday night, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called the whole exercise a "fire drill [that] was completely unnecessary."

But a Senate Democratic aide suggests McConnell knew full well who'd caused the fire drill, and it wasn't Democrats.

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Government Shutdown

Top Republicans: Government Shutdown Over Disaster Aid Will Fall On Reid's Shoulders

Brian Beutler | September 20, 2011, 1:13PM

From left: Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), Rep. Candice Miller (R-MI), Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA), Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL), Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), and Rep. John Boehner (R-OH)

The more Republicans and Democrats insist they're not interested in another government shutdown fight, the more they show themselves to be fighting their impulses.

Now, two of the top Republicans in the House say the Senate has little choice but to pass their federal funding bill -- including its controversial disaster relief provision -- or risk a shutdown, and a lapse in government services for people in need of help from FEMA.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has said he'll send legislation to avoid a shutdown back to the House, with additional disaster relief money, and no controversial spending cuts, and dare Republicans to vote it down. They may very well do that that.

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Steny Hoyer

Hoyer: House Dems May Jam Boehner Over Disaster Relief

Brian Beutler | September 20, 2011, 11:57AM

Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD)

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) says Democrats may withhold their support for House legislation to fund the government if Republicans insist on pairing disaster relief with partisan budget cuts.

If Democrats vote against the funding bill en masse, it could leave House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) shy of the votes needed to pass the legislation, and force him to cut a deal on the Democrats' terms. Because if the impasse isn't bridged by the end of the month, the government will shut down.

"My presumption is they will offer a [funding bill] which has that offset in it and I think Democrats will be loath to support that effort," Hoyer told reporters at his weekly Capitol briefing.

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FAA

Reid Letter To Boehner Urges Swift FAA Fix Despite Congressional Recess

Susan Crabtree | August 3, 2011, 6:20PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has fired off a letter to House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) offering an urgent compromise on Congress' latest impasse: the partial shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration.

The move comes just hours after President Barack Obama slammed the imbroglio for creating a "lose-lose-lose situation" and urged Congress to resolve the matter before the end of the week.

Complicating matters is the fact that many lawmakers are about to leave DC, or have left already, as this year's Congressional recess has now begun.

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Debt Ceiling

BREAKING: Short Of Votes GOP Leadership Postpones Vote On Debt Limit Bill

Brian Beutler | July 28, 2011, 5:36PM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), and other members of the GOP leadership

Despite a days-long push to force their conservative members into line, and sneak Speaker John Boehner's (R-OH) debt limit bill through the House of Representatives, GOP leadership has postponed a scheduled vote on the legislation -- a sign that their efforts have thus far failed.

This evening, members were alerted that Boehner and his leadership team were delaying the vote, which had been scheduled for 6 p.m.

"Members are advised that the House GOP Leadership has postponed the votes on the motion to recommit and final passage of S. 627 - Speaker Boehner's Short Term Default Act (amending the Faster FOIA Act of 2011)," reads a notice from Minority Whip Steny Hoyer's (D-MD) office to his whip team.

The measure could still come up for a vote late Thursday, but not until the House holds a series of back to back votes on unrelated issues.

The announcement landed well after U.S. markets closed.

Government Shutdown

Hoyer: After Default Crisis, Look Forward To Another Government Shutdown Fight

Brian Beutler | July 26, 2011, 1:22PM

Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD)

Even if the debt limit fight is resolved without lasting consequences for the country, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) predicted Tuesday that the country will face more perilous brinksmanship when funding for the federal government expires at the end of September.

In response to a question from another reporter, Hoyer distinguished between the appropriations impasse of 1995, which resulted in a weeks-long government shutdown, and the current fight over borrowing authority, which could result in a debt default, and, which Hoyer noted, is much, much graver. But don't assume that the GOP will lose its appetite for confrontation after this fight's over.

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Debt Ceiling

NOPE! Top House Conservatives Says Boehner Lacks Sufficient GOP Support To Raise Debt Limit

Brian Beutler | July 26, 2011, 12:25PM

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH)

One of the most influential conservatives in Congress says he's confident his own Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) will lack the votes to pass his plan to raise the debt limit in the House of Representatives.

Complicating matters further for Boehner -- the Dems' top vote counter wryly suggested at a simultaneous press briefing that few, if any, Democrats will vote for the GOP's bill, since there is a preferable Democratic plan waiting in the wings. That suggests House conservatives are holding the line against any debt limit increase that can plausibly pass the Senate -- and that Democrats will have added leverage to muscle their own plan through both chambers.

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Debt Ceiling

Obama Presses Skeptical Dem Leaders On Big Deal With Boehner

Brian Beutler | July 21, 2011, 1:26PM

A Congressional aide briefed on ongoing negotiations between House Speaker John Boehner and President Obama says the two principals may be nearing a "grand bargain" to raise the debt limit which would contain large, set-in-stone spending cuts but only the possibility of future revenue increases.

"All cuts," the aide said. "Maybe revenues some time in the future."

[TPM SLIDESHOW: Debt Ceiling Negotiations At The White House]

The status of negotiations has Democratic aides on both sides of the Capitol nervous and unhappy. And the notion that the impasse over the debt limit may be nearing an end is sparking denials from both the White House and Boehner's office -- in part, perhaps, because neither side has buy-in from their parties on a consensus plan.

A White House spokesman called the claims from aides "not credible" -- the result of having a "third-hand version of the facts."

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Grover Norquist

Did Norquist Blink? Dems Herald Norquist Concession On Bush Tax Cuts

Brian Beutler | July 21, 2011, 10:57AM

Grover Norquist

The big question bedeviling the Capitol Thursday is whether anti-tax zealot Grover Norquist just gave House Republicans the coded signal that they can vote for a bill to reduce deficits and raise the debt limit even if the plan contains new tax revenue.

In an interview with the Washington Post's editorial board, Norquist addressed the question of the Bush tax cuts -- which are scheduled to expire at the end of 2012. "Not continuing a tax cut is not technically a tax increase," Norquist said. Would that violate his anti-tax pledge? "We wouldn't hold it that way," he said.

Democrats are latching on to this to press Republicans to back off their insistence that any debt limit package be revenue neutral. At a Capitol press conference Thursday, House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) read the quotes out loud to reporters. "I think Mr. Norquist has made a very important statement that I hope they each take into consideration," Hoyer said, referring to House Republicans.

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Debt Ceiling

Hoyer: Dems United Against Entitlement Benefit Cuts In Debt Fight

Brian Beutler | July 19, 2011, 1:15PM

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD)

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has been clear for weeks that entitlement benefit cuts -- reducing the guarantees promised to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid beneficiaries -- are off the table in high-stakes negotiations to raise the national debt limit and avoid a catastrophic default.

But several Democrats have been on the record for years saying they'd consider or accept certain benefit cuts as part of a broad, balanced package to address long-term deficits. And that's raised the question of whether Pelosi would be able to hold the line if President Obama throws his weight behind cutting entitlement benefits as part of a "grand bargain" to reduce deficits by up to $4 trillion this decade.

Pelosi's lieutenant, Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD), is one of the Dems who in the past has called for benefit cuts to be on the table -- alongside tax revenues, and savings -- as part of a bipartisan plan to bring the budget into balance. Today, though, he said he's with Pelosi 100 percent in the current fight, even if Republicans agree to a "grand bargain" that includes new tax revenue.

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Debt

Hoyer To GOP: Drop The Brinksmanship Or Dems Won't Help You Raise Debt Limit

Brian Beutler | July 12, 2011, 12:48PM

Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD)

The vote counter for House Democrats says Republicans shouldn't expect any Democratic votes for raising the debt limit unless they relent on their demand for deep program cuts and their refusal to consider any new tax revenues.

"I think if what the Republicans do is try to hold hostage the creditworthiness of the United States of America so that they can slash programs that are critically important to the American people and to stabilizing and growing the economy...they ought not to expect us to support that," Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) told reporters at his weekly briefing Tuesday.

Hoyer has acknowledged recently, and repeated today, that Republicans need Democratic votes to help the country avoid a default. Scores of House GOP members have pledged to vote against lifting the debt ceiling under all feasible circumstances, and that means preventing a default on the debt will require a bipartisan agreement.

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Debt Ceiling

Pelosi: Medicare, Social Security Benefit Cuts Are Line In The Sand On Debt Limit Bill

Brian Beutler | July 7, 2011, 4:10PM

After a contentious White House meeting with President Obama and other Congressional leaders, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) returned to the Capitol and drew an important red line: Members of her caucus won't vote for a grand bargain to raise the debt limit and reduce future deficits if the final deal includes cuts to Medicare and Social Security benefits -- and that means it probably won't pass.

"You [asked], 'could the changes compromise the vote?'" Pelosi said at a Thursday afternoon briefing near the House chamber. "I said yes."

It's widely believed that House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) will need Democratic votes to raise the debt limit. Democratic leaders, including House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) have offered to help him out -- but not on Boehner's terms alone. Pelosi has her own terms.

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