House Republicans Readying New Debt Proposal

Byron York reports that the House Republicans are preparing yet another solution to the debt ceiling crisis:

House Republicans are finishing work on a new proposal to resolve the standoff over the debt ceiling. The proposal, set to be finished Sunday, will be in two parts. The first will combine a short-term increase in the debt ceiling with spending cuts. The second will lay the groundwork for a longer-term increase in the debt ceiling coupled with far-reaching deficit reduction.

“Senator Reid said on Friday that he is going to wait for us to move,” says a well-informed GOP House aide. “So we’ll move.”

So let’s add this up. The Republican House passed a budget–a very good one, too–within the deadlines prescribed by the Congressional Budget Act. The Senate Democrats ignored the law and refused either to agree with the House’s proposal, or adopt a budget of their own.

Next, the Republican House passed cut, cap and balance, which would have resolved the debt ceiling issue. Harry Reid refused to allow the Senate to vote on the proposal, and once again refused to come up with a plan of his own. President Obama, likewise, has refused to submit a plan other than his official FY 2012 budget, which was a joke. Obama has abandoned that proposal, but refuses to replace it with a new one.

Now, Harry Reid says the House should jump, and the House is jumping. Republicans will come up with yet another plan to resolve the debt ceiling issue. Maybe this makes sense from a political perspective. I hope so. But it is absurd for the Republicans, time after time, to bear the burden of proposing solutions that the Democrats cavalierly refuse to consider.

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