The volleying continues on Capitol Hill — where dead-end bills have flown back and forth between the House and Senate all day.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid returned John Boehner’s latest serve, voting down a bill that extends government funding for a few weeks in exchange for changes to Obamacare. Reid wants Boehner to pass a “clean” extension with no strings attached.
It’s an unusual display on the Hill, where bills generally take weeks and months to trade chambers — not minutes. But this is no ordinary fight. Each side has dug in in the final hours ahead of a government shutdown. The question: will either side blink?
Boehner’s latest plan didn’t sail through his conference. In fact, a dozen moderates peeled off, leaving Boehner in a weaker position than Reid, who has largely kept his caucus together in the fight.
While no one knows how the funding fight will end, one thing seems certain: Regardless of whether or not there is a government shutdown after midnight, enrollment in Obamacare’s health-care exchanges will begin tomorrow, putting the centerpiece of the law into effect.
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