Boehner to GOP: ‘Get your a** in line’

As the Aug. 2 deadline for raising the debt limit approaches, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is attempting to martial Republican support for his bill. After originally presenting the bill on Monday (seeking a vote today), the Speaker has since moved the vote on the bill to Thursday, needing time to make changes after the bill was poorly received by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

“Speaker John Boehner told GOP lawmakers Wednesday morning to ‘get your ass in line’ behind his debt ceiling bill, saying the Senate will fold and pass it,” read an article for POLITICO. “‘This is the bill,’ Boehner said in a closed-door meeting of House Republicans on Wednesday morning. ‘I can’t do this job unless you’re behind me.’”

The CBO found that Boehner’s bill was $150 billion short of its goal of cutting $1 trillion in spending. In a statement announcing the need to revise the bill, Boehner said: “We’re here to change Washington — no more smoke-and-mirrors, no more ‘phantom cuts.’ We promised that we will cut spending more than we increase the debt limit — with no tax hikes — and we will keep that promise. As we speak, Congressional staff are looking at options to adjust the legislation to meet our pledge. This is what can happen when you have an actual plan and submit it for independent review — which the Democrats who run Washington have refused to do.”

According to his website, Boehner’s bill would: “(1) make spending cuts that are larger than any debt ceiling increase; (2) implement spending caps to restrain future spending; and (3) advance the cause of the Balanced Budget Amendment — without tax hikes on families and job creators.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has proposed an alternate plan, which he has said will raise the debt limit by $2.7 trillion.