This Looks Like The Part Of The Script When The GOP Plan Blows Up In John Boehner's Face
A GOP leadership aide confirmed that the House of Representatives is planning to move new amendments to keep the government funded later Monday, just hours before the government is set to shut down.
The amendments include a one-year delay of the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate, along with language that would bar lawmakers, Congressional staffers, and administration staffers from receiving federal subsidies for health insurance under Obamacare. That amendment has been offered in the Senate by Sen. David Vitter (R-La.).
There are a number of reasons to think that Speaker Boehner may not have the votes within his own caucus to pass this plan. And the reactions coming out of the House Republican caucus suggest that this could be another "Plan B," fiscal-cliff era redux.
One House member told National Review's Robert Costa that it "sux":
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) shrugged when asked if Boehner had the votes for the new plan:
Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) said that Republicans "don't have the votes to do anything":
Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), one of the House's most conservative members, isn't voting for it:
And NBC's Luke Russert is already seeing opposition:
What's behind the early opposition? Delaying the individual mandate and adding the Vitter amendment doesn't get at the heart of the conservative crusade in this government shutdown fight - which is to "defund Obamacare."
Remember, three weeks ago, Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor offered members a plan that would served as a ploy to make the Senate vote on Obamacare defunding - but would have kept the government funded if the Senate didn't pass Obamacare defunding. Conservatives called this out as a gimmick that wouldn't defund Obamacare.
Second, the Vitter amendment might not get support because it would directly hit the pockets of Congressional staffers. When Vitter tried to bring up his amendment during debate over an unrelated energy-efficiency bill, Politico's Ginger Gibson reported that staffers from Republican offices were reaching out to their Democratic counterparts to get assurance that the amendment would not pass.