But Salmon and other Republicans said Ryan would get leeway for how he navigates the immediate crises he inherits, including the debt ceiling, if it’s not dealt with before he assumes the speakership.
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Negotiators looked to address two other key issues as well: a shortfall looming next year in Social Security payments to the disabled and a large increase for many retirees in Medicare premiums and deductibles for doctors’ visits and other outpatient care. Having pushed to eliminate earmarks, those budget items destined for a particular representative’s district that past speakers used as leverage to keep recalcitrant caucus members in line, Republican leadership now has fewer ways to force members to vote in favor of anything from party initiatives to basic functions like funding the government.
That’s possible, but Ryan already is facing unrest that would get worse if he cut any deals. Those included the endorsement of the House Freedom Caucus, that group of 40 or so far-right representatives who have turned the chamber from a semi-functional body into something Jigsaw might have dreamed up if he had a political science degree. Top House and Senate aides have been meeting with White House officials in search of a deal.
“As the details come in and especially if an agreement is reached, I intend to consult and discuss the details with our colleagues”, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday. Ten Republicans, including seven Freedom Caucus members, joined 146 Democrats in voting no.
Any effort to undo the sequester cuts and raise the debt limit without extracting GOP concessions is certain to run into sharp resistance from the party’s conservative base. Democrats and the White House are pressing hard as well, demanding increases for domestic agencies on par with any Pentagon hikes.
“We’re just trying to get something done as soon as we can”, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Monday as he left the Capitol headed for a lunch hosted by former senators at the Metropolitan Club, where Obama was also to be in attendance.
White House Spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters on Monday that the deal is not final. That means that nothing at this point has been agreed to.
And early December will bring the next chapter in the government shutdown wars, with a must-pass deadline for spending legislation a ripe opportunity for brinksmanship. Before that CR expired, Boehner cut a spending deal that President Obamas signed to fund the government after that date. Policy riders on issues such as the Internet and travel to Cuba could trip them up.
This year, conservatives succeeded in beginning to shutter the bank by failing to authorize new lending. If that is allowed to happen, it would trigger an automatic 19 percent cut in benefits for 11 million disabled workers and their families. Those cuts could be problematic for Democrats who have insisted that there be no changes to Medicare or Social Security in a budget deal. (The official spoke on condition of anonymity, because the negotiations are ongoing.) CNN is reporting that the spending increases would be offset by oil sales from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, higher fees for telecommunications companies, and changes to the crop insurance program.
In his budget for example, he called on Congress to increase discretionary spending for 2016 by $37 billion on each side for a total of $74 billion more.
Leaders are expected to present details of the deal to members over the coming days, setting up a very tight time frame to build support for the plan before Congress will be required to vote on debt limit increase, which the Treasury Department says needs to occur by November 3.
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“Exactly five days after I buried her, I was back at work”, she remembered, saying she was not emotionally prepared to return to the job but could not afford to take time off.
