Boehner Bill Caught in Time Crunch Even if it Passes Senate
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Even if the House approves the Boehner two-step debt bill Wednesday and sends it to the Senate, Congressional leaders are facing a serious time crunch to move the bill through.
The bill is designated as a "Senate" package. But it has a strange name that has nothing to do with the debt ceiling.
The bill is "S. 627 - Faster FOIA Act of 2011." What they're doing is putting the text of Boehner's bill in the shell of a Senate measure (hence the S. on this calcified legislation that deals with FOIA) to expedite Senate consideration.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In short, it turns the Senate vehicle--in this case the FOIA bill--into a House amendment, which is privileged in the Senate. That eliminates at least one of the cloture hurdles which seemingly take forever to overcome in the Senate.
It cuts the time and number of cloture votes by two days so rather than voting on final passage in five days, you could conceivably get to it in three days.
In other words, if someone believes this is the only live animal here to avert a default on August 2nd, this is the most expeditious way to get it passed, eliminating one of the hurdles.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}But some think the bill won't make it to the Senate. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, says he doesn't think Boehner's plan has the votes needed to pass the House.