Boehner offers to take debt limit off the table [View all]
Source: Washington Post
House Speaker John A. Boehner has offered to push any fight over the federal debt limit off for a year, a major concession that would deprive Republicans of leverage in the budget battle but is breathing new life into stalled talks over the year-end “fiscal cliff.”
The offer came Friday, according to people in both parties familiar with the talks, as part of the latest effort by Boehner (R-Ohio) to strike a deal with President Obama to replace more than $500 billion in painful deficit-reduction measures set to take effect in January.
With the national debt already bumping up against the $16.4 trillion cap set last year, Congress risks a government default unless it acts to raise the debt ceiling in the next few months.
Many Republicans had argued that party leaders should use the threat of default to demand additional spending cuts from Obama. But Boehner’s offer would head off that potentially nasty fight — at least until the end of next year.
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Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/boehner-offers-to-take-debt-limit-off-the-table/2012/12/16/8b369b7e-47c6-11e2-b6f0-e851e741d196_story.html
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