An attempt by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to delay Senate consideration of a House-passed spending bill could leave Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and House Republicans little time to respond without forcing a government shutdown after Sept. 30.
Cruz has vowed to do everything possible to prevent Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) from stripping out a provision defunding the healthcare law, a strategy that could push back a final Senate vote until Sept. 28.
The House would then have less than 48 hours to decide whether to accept a “clean” continuing resolution or amend it and return it to the Senate — a move that would almost certainly result in a shutdown. Among the ideas that GOP lawmakers are batting around for a second round of legislative pingpong are attaching a repeal of the healthcare law’s medical device tax or a repeal of subsidies for lawmakers and congressional staffers.
Republican lawmakers and aides note that, procedurally, the House could move rapidly to act either way on a Senate-passed bill. But Boehner has struggled to win consensus from his conference on almost any issue, and he could be hard-pressed to find a way to win 217 votes for any change to the Senate measure.
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