House GOP Prepared to Vote on Clean Debt Ceiling Raise

By Melanie Waddell

February 11, 2014 at 05:17 AM

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After abandoning late Monday their plan to lift the debt limit and restore military pension cuts, House GOP members are now prepared to vote on a "clean" debt ceiling increase Wednesday, with the borrowing limit to be extended until March 15, 2015.

Washington Analysis commentators questioned Tuesday whether Republicans "can provide enough votes to get the measure across the finish line. We believe the answer is yes."

House Minority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., has stated that there will be at least 180 Democrats who will vote in favor of a clean debt limit extension, the analysts state. "That means that House Republicans will need to find 37 votes for the measure (it could be fewer if GOP members vote 'present,' thereby bringing down the number of votes necessary for a majority)."

Should a debt limit bill pass the House, Washington Analysis says that it "fully expects the Senate to follow suit with little difficulty," either this week or the week of Feb. 24, when lawmakers return from their Presidents' Day recess.

The House GOP leadership Monday night had planned on bringing a measure to the floor that would have raised the debt limit through March 15, 2015, "and mostly eliminated a cut in the military retirement COLA, but we never thought they would be able to get a majority for that bill, and as it turns out, they didn't either," Washington Analysis said.

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