Posted on 03/16/2015 6:45:52 PM PDT by kristinn
The House's hard-core conservatives have gotten used to losing at the end of a long legislative fight. But for the first time in the 114th Congress, Speaker John Boehner is cutting them loose from the get go.
Boehner and his top chairmen will pitch a permanent "doc-fix" deal to Republicans Tuesday morning that would have been unheard of in the GOP-led House of the last few years: an entitlement change that adds tens of billions of dollars to the 10-year deficit and that they know fiscal hawks will vote against. What's more, Boehner and his team negotiated the deal with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and her Democrats first.
That is a noted strategy shift for Boehner, who on several recent occasions—including last month's Homeland Security Department funding standoff—has only gone to Pelosi as a last resort and, instead, relied on 218 Republicans to pass right-leaning bills. Now he is not bothering to try to appease the most vocal hard-liners in his party, members who—Boehner's allies have argued—were never going to come around to his side anyway.
Perhaps even more interestingly, the proposal—which could reach the floor as soon as this week—is coming in part from Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan, who so insisted on offsetting all spending when he chaired the Budget Committee that he might have voted against this very deal a few years ago.
"This is a hard run to the middle," said a former GOP aide who has worked on fiscal issues. "It's nothing more than a 100-plus billion-dollar hole in the deficit, if you're at all worried about a primary from the fiscal conservative side, which is still dominating the Republican Party."
"The interesting thing is how Paul argues this. His first big move from the committee is to allow 100-plus billion dollars in entitlement spending to go unpaid for?" the source continued.
In fact, Boehner, Ryan, and other leaders will argue that, if you look beyond the standard 10-year budget window, the deal is a win for Republicans. Only about a third of the up to $200 billion price tag will be paid for within 10 years—half of that by reforms to Medicare long sought by Republicans and the other half through costs imposed on hospitals and other Medicare service providers. But those Medicare reforms, leaders will argue, will save money in the long term.
The deal also removes a perennial sword of Damocles hanging over doctors who treat Medicare patients, as it repeals a policy that would raise their costs by more than 20 percent if it is allowed to lapse at the end of the month.
"We are working to develop a bipartisan framework that finally resolves the never-ending doc-fix problem while putting in place responsible reforms that would strengthen the Medicare program for seniors," Boehner spokesman Kevin Smith said.
Meanwhile, House Democrats have agreed to the policy without insisting on tax increases in return. What they get instead is a two-year reauthorization of the Children's Health Insurance Program at levels agreed to in the Affordable Care Act. And even that is a relief for GOP leaders; CHIP not only splits the Republican Party, but it expires in September, just as government spending is set to run out. Amid another potential shutdown jam, GOP leaders would also likely have to deal with Democrats to get it passed then or concoct their own policy and suffer attacks from Democrats accusing them of endangering or making draconian cuts to children's health care programs.
SNIP
I was in a YELLING mood, but I’ve calmed down a bit.
What we need is a calm third party like Nigel Farage and UKIP.
New strategy?
Been his deal all along.
Worthless cow pie.
The New Republican Party Deicated to Democrats Wins for
Decades? (TNRPDTDWFD) Catchy.
I'm also going to guess that you're a Paul-Bot type Libertarian.
Disband the Democrats, disband the Republicans. Make a new party. Call it Republocrats.
I'm tired of the lies. Tell the truth JUST ONCE.
Way to go Ohio.
(Oddly, it was posted in Activism for a while. Then it was removed and put into Freeper Editorial.
Well, not only is the writing insufficient in quality, to my mind, to be a Freeper Ed..... but, if this isn’t Activism, I don’t know what is.
Strange place sometimes. A lot of times, actually.)
According to the so-called “conservative” boot licking drones on FR Boner is better simply because he has an (R) in front of his name and that is all that matters. They have been noticeably absent since their Party took power from FR, but then again defending traitors and sellouts takes a toll.
Rest assured come 2016 they awaken like locust and will return to FR and other conservative websites to spread their blind obedience and nonsense about supporting their beloved Republican Party which, gosh darn it just loves us all so much...
I’m not an all out Paulist.
I know the Pauls are not committed to the New World Order that the Bush, McCain and Romney types are.....
The close relationship of the United States with the founding nations of Al Queda and the Taliban (Saudi Arabia and Pakistan) promoted by President Bush makes no sense to me.
The Paul’s want to pull out of half fast police wars, I would just like to win them like WW 2. The GOPe will never do that, they will never balance the budget, get rid of Obamacare, Amnesty or Common Core.
The Uniparties make government bigger and bail out special interests, driving this country deeper into debt.
There’s gotta be a better way than Republicans and Democrats.
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