Boehner Plans Short-Term Spending Bills, Defers Obamacare Fight

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner warned rank-and-file Republicans in a conference call on Thursday against using the threat of a government shutdown to stop the implementation of Obamacare, according to people on the call.

Boehner told those on the call that they would move forward forward next month with an unencumbered short-term spending bill and defer the health-care fight until November or December during negotiations to raise the government's borrowing limit.

Some GOP leaders fear that, because Mr. Obama won't sign any measure hampering the health law, known as the Affordable Care Act, a so-called defunding fight could lead to a government shutdown.

One GOP lawmaker who participated in the conference call said he was "stunned" by Mr. Boehner's plan. "There's no chance they have Republican votes to pass that," the lawmaker told the Wall Street Journal. 

In the call, Boehner reminded Republicans of the political backlash their party suffered when the government shut down in 1995-1996, according to one person on the call.

Another participant in the call, Oklahoma Representative Tom Cole, said the speaker's main message was that he and other leaders were still committed to killing President Barack Obama's signature health care law but that they did not want a government shutdown.
Republicans agree strongly on their opposition to Obamacare, viewing the law as a burden to businesses that will cost jobs.

But the party has been roiled by heated debate over the strategy for trying to stop the law.
Hours before Boehner's conference call, about a third of the Republican caucus sent a letter to Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor urging them to oppose any annual spending bills that include funding for Obamacare.

Via: Newsmax

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