Senators denied their Fourth of July break will join House members on Capitol Hill this week for what promises to be more saber rattling over the debt limit increase as well as debate over the role of the United States military in Libya and Afghanistan.
With less than a month remaining before the Treasury Department’s Aug. 2 deadline for an increase in the federal debt ceiling, President Obama and Democratic leaders are scheduled to meet Wednesday in search of a way out of the impasse over raising the borrowing limit.
At the same time, officials say there could be some nonbinding “Sense of the Senate” votes to allow members of both parties to formally register their opinions on how a deal clearing the way for a debt limit increase should be structured.
Over the weekend, Republicans warned that President Obama and Democrats should not try to strike a deal at the last minute and then expect Republicans to help push it through under threat of a fiscal calamity if the debt limit is not raised.
“We are running up against this deadline,” Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, said on “Fox News Sunday.” “And they’re going to try to present it as a fait accompli; nobody is going to have time to read it or consider the implications of it, and it’s going to say you have to pass it or the economy is going down the tubes. That’s just irresponsible.”
Lawmakers and aides say the president and Congressional leaders need to strike some sort of agreement in the next three weeks to give lawmakers any chance of putting together a measure and winning House and Senate approval before Aug. 2.
The Senate was supposed to be in recess this week, but sniping between the White House and Congressional Republicans over who did and did not have their noses to the grindstone led the majority leader, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, to cancel the break. The House was out last week and was scheduled to be in session.
Given the political posturing that went on last week, pessimism mounted in both parties about the prospects for a compromise deficit-reduction plan. Lawmakers and the financial markets will be watching intently this week to see if the tone of the debate has improved.
While the debt limit action will occur mainly behind the scenes, the Senate has set a vote for Tuesday to bring a bipartisan resolution to the floor authorizing United States participation in military operations in Libya.
The Pentagon will also be the focus of attention in the House as lawmakers take up the annual military spending measure. Amendments to cut off financing for intervention in Libya are expected, as are votes on the nation’s continuing military role in Afghanistan.
No comments:
Post a Comment