–Senate Majority Leader Says Senate Will Hold Key Vote At Noon
–Senate Minority Leader Says Most GOP Will Vote To Disapprove Hike
–Senate Finance Chief Says Disapproval Vote Would ‘Reverse’ Debt Deal
By John Shaw
WASHINGTON (MNI) – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid confirmed
Thursday that the Senate will vote at noon on a Republican-backed motion
to disapprove of the final installment of last year’s debt ceiling
agreement.
Reid confirmed the vote on the Senate floor, but did not comment on
the issue.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday that
“virtually every Republican” will vote to disapprove of the debt ceiling
increase.
“Washington needs to start spending less than it takes in,”
McConnell said.
McConnell said the vote will send a “simple message to the White
House: no more blank checks.”
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus said the vote to
increase the debt ceiling allows the U.S. to “pay the bills that have
already been incurred.”
He said a vote to halt the final tranche of the debt ceiling
increase would “reverse” the August agreement.
Last week, the House passed the disapproval resolution, as it did
last fall, but this resolution is likely to fail Thursday in the Senate,
as it also did last fall. If the disapproval resolution should pass the
Senate, President Obama would certainly veto the resolution.
The net effect of these votes will be to allow for the final $1.2
trillion tranche of last summer’s debt ceiling increase to go forward.
The disapproval process was suggested last summer by McConnell as a
way to allow congressional Republicans to express their displeasure with
increasing the debt ceiling without actually blocking the increase.
If the final $1.2 trillion debt ceiling increase goes forward as is
very likely, Congress is not expected to have to deal with the debt
ceiling again until after the November elections.
** Market News International Washington Bureau: (202) 371-2121 **
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