US News

Boehner proposes six-week debt extension to GOP leaders

WASHINGTON — House Speaker John Boehner pitched House Republicans on a plan to raise the nation’s $16.7 trillion debt ceiling for another six weeks – a move that would put off a debt crisis that has provoked global jitters.

“I would hope the president would look at this as an opportunity and a good faith effort on our part to move halfway, halfway to what he’s demanded, in order to have these conversations begin,” Boehner told reporters Thursday morning.

But the entire GOP Conference has yet to formally embrace such a deal and there’s no current plan to end the government shutdown that is now in its 10th day.

The White House, while not rejecting the idea, is also demanding that Republicans pass a bill with no strings attached to reopen the government.

“While we are willing to look at any proposal Congress puts forward to end these manufactured crises, we will not allow a faction of the Republicans in the House to hold the economy hostage to its extraneous and extreme political demands,” said a White House official.

“Congress needs to pass a clean debt limit increase and a funding bill to reopen the government.”

The official continued: “Once Republicans in Congress act to remove the threat of default and end this harmful government shutdown, the President will be willing to negotiate on a broader budget agreement to create jobs, grow the economy, and put our fiscal house in order.”

A group of House Republicans is meeting with Obama at the White House Thursday.

Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) summed up the offer as it would be explained to President Obama.

“We’re going to give the country another four to six weeks [with a debt ceiling increase] to have a conversation, which we’ve been asking for all along … To make sure we take the pressure off so that you don’t feel like there’s extortion or any of those extraordinary terms, in exchange for your agreement to sit own and negotiate, we will extend the debt ceiling another six weeks,” he said.

Fleming told reporters there was a “general sense of support” for the offer within the House GOP.

But several lawmakers said they had to think about the move, which some were describing as a major concession to Obama.

“I think it’s a huge concession,” said Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho), who says he helped pitch the idea of a six-week debt hike to leadership.

But Labrador insisted opening the government was a non-starter.

“That would be complete capitulation,” he told reporters. “It is everything [Obama] wants. That’s all he wants. He wants to open the government to get a clean – he wants a clean [funding resolution] and a clean debt ceiling — that’s not how you negotiate,” he said.

“I’m not very enthusiastic about that,” agreed Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, referring to the debt-ceiling hike without conditions.

Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) indicated that if talks ever get started, it won’t just be cuts to entitlements that would be on the table. “Relief from sequester would be part of the conversation on the list of issues that would be taken up,” he said, mentioning the spending cuts that have already taken effect.

The business community has been pushing hard for Republicans to raise the debt ceiling.