Republican leaders are slowly convincing the GOP conference to move toward a continuing resolution that would keep the government funded and the Capitol’s lights on before the Monday deadline, but leadership’s best shot may be to pivot toward the debt ceiling.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, met with his rank and file members Thursday to announce a plan to punt a list of demands including a one-year delay of the Affordable Care Act and tax reform to the debt ceiling.
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While Americans were weary of a government shutdown that could result if the Senate, House and White House cannot come to an agreement on the continuing resolution, a host of polls out Thursday show that Americans want Congress and the president to play ball on the debt ceiling.
An Ending Spending and American Action Forum poll showed that 65 percent of Americans were opposed to raising the debt ceiling without reforming the country’s spending practices.
“Speaker John Boehner and the House Republicans have the opportunity, in the wake of the Obamacare debate, to demand some serious cuts in the budget before any discussions of a debt limit increase,” said Brian Baker, the president of Ending Spending.
The center-right group’s poll also showed 54 percent of Americans would support raising the debt ceiling if the White House agreed to delay the full implementation of Obamacare for one year. And 73 percent of Americans want to see the president approve the Keystone XL pipeline as part of the debt ceiling debate.