Boehner Bumps Up Continuing Resolution Vote Citing Weather

     While he cites the weather, there is some skepticism that this is the real reason. The CR vote was originally slated for Thursday, and has many have pointed out the forecast for tomorrow is actually fine. So what's going on? It is suggested he may not have the votes or at least worries that he has and wants to rush a vote. 

     "At close of business on Tuesday evening, House GOP leadership offices emailed notifications to members and the press, advising that they’d bumped a key vote on legislation to fund the government from Thursday up to early Wednesday afternoon."

     "They claimed to be motivated by a big, approaching snow storm, which forecasters say will blanket the capital with up to 8 inches of snow."

     "There’s just one problem. The weather on Thursday is supposed to be clear and warm enough to melt snow. By moving the vote up a day, rather than postponing it or just leaving the schedule untouched, they situated it during the forecasted teeth of the storm."

     "GOP leaders say they were concerned that roads might still be treacherous on Thursday afternoon. But to Democrats, and even conservative opponents of the continuing resolution up for a vote, the move stank of desperation — a last-ditch attempt to prevent opposition from building within GOP ranks, and hamstring the Democrats’ whip operation."

    "“It seems to be an effort to rush the process,” said Jacqueline Bodnar, a spokeswoman for the conservative group FreedomWorks, which is warning Republicans not to vote for the bill. “Every hour the votes get bumped up, is one less hour that Members could be crafting and debating amendments to the CR to make it more fiscally responsible. If it was really about the weather, Congress could have postponed the votes to give Members more time.”

    "A senior Democratic aide shared a similar observation: “I think they’re worried they don’t have the votes, and that they’ll lose if they wait a day.”

     http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2013/03/the-bumpy-road-to-averting-a-government-shutdown.php?ref=fpb

     There's a lot riding on this as a failure to pass Boehner's CR for avoiding a government shutdown on March 27 puts the ball back in the court of the Senate Democrats. This will likely give the GOP a deal they will like less. 

     Boehner yesterday claimed that he still expects to employ the Hastert Rule-where the only legislation that goes to the House floor for a vote is what has a likely chance at majority Republican support- going forward despite having breached it in passing the fiscal cliff deal, Sandy relief, and most recently reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Authorization ACT (VAWA). 

     http://www.rollcall.com/news/boehner_pledges_to_stick_to_the_hastert_rule-222874-1.html?pg=2

     Mitch McConnell has pledged not to let anything through the Senate that will make it hard to get majority House Republican support:

      But unlike in the House, the Senate’s minority party enjoys filibuster powers and thus has a tremendous amount of say over how extensively legislation can be modified and what legislation will pass. And Republicans have indicated that they won’t let Democrats make drastic changes.

     “We’d like to develop an endgame where whatever revisions are added in the Senate also passed the House,” Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told reporters at his weekly Capitol briefing on Tuesday.

     "His whip, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) elaborated — and made clear that they won’t allow the kinds of changes that turn rank-and-file House Republicans against the bill, and once again hand effective control of the lower chamber to Nancy Pelosi."

     “I think the problem is if we mess with the CR too much over here, then it’s got to go back to the House and get passed and there’s limitations in terms of what they’ll take,” he told reporters in response to my inquiry. “That’s why I think the sort of modest approach that Senator McConnell was talking about — perhaps some modifications, but not an omnibus — would be the most likely outcome.”

     "So even if House Republicans avoid a rebellion on Wednesday and send their CR to the Senate, the bill faces an uncertain future. It will need to change enough to satisfy Senate Democrats without protecting so many liberal priorities that House Republicans take a walk. And given the unpredictable nature of the House GOP conference, striking that balance won’t be easy."

     http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2013/03/the-bumpy-road-to-averting-a-government-shutdown.php?ref=fpb

     It will be very interesting to see if he has the votes. It may be the optimum outcome for the Democrats is that he doesn't as then it will again take control out of the GOP House' hands.