House Republicans ended up not voting yesterday on a proposal to raise the debt ceiling and end the government shutdown because it didn't have enough support to pass, according to a report from The Hill.
The original House measure would have repealed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act medical device tax and prohibit health insurance subsidies for federal lawmakers. However, Republicans dropped the provision to repeal the device tax and also scrapped stricter income verification requirements for people receiving subsidized health insurance under the reform law. These changes seemed to be an attempt to gain support from Democratic lawmakers, according to the report.
Congress must raise the country's $16.7 trillion debt ceiling by Oct. 17 or face a default on its credit. The House proposal would fund the government through Dec. 15 and raise the debt ceiling to Feb. 7. Conservative lawmakers raised objections to the measure, according to the report.
Meanwhile, Senate leaders have resumed negotiations concerning their own developing plan to raise the debt ceiling and reopen the government. They froze talks yesterday to await House action, according to The Hill.
The emerging Senate measure — which would fund the government through Jan. 15 and raise the debt limit until February — reportedly doesn't include provisions House conservatives have pushed for, such as a one-year delay for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act individual mandate.
The in-progress Senate plan will likely include stricter income verification requirements for people receiving subsidies to purchase health insurance under the reform law. It might also repeal a $63 per person transitional reinsurance fee for fully insured and self-insured group health plans.
The federal government shut down after House Republicans and the Senate failed to pass a spending resolution earlier this month. House Republicans demanded that any spending bill include a provision to defund the PPACA, but the Democrat-led Senate and President Obama refused to consider any measure that would halt the law's implementation.
More Articles on the Government Shutdown:
Politics: Now Threatening the State of Our Union
Developing Senate Budget Proposal Has Low Impact for PPACA
Paul Ryan, Rob Portman Offer Solutions to Shutdown