Before the
upcoming debt ceiling battle in the fall, Republicans have some more immediate budget concerns on the way. Ashley Parker
has the details:
In April, physicians who treat Medicare patients face a drastic cut in pay. In May, the Highway Trust Fund runs dry. In June, the charter for the federal Export-Import Bank ceases to exist. Then in October, across-the-board spending cuts return, the government runs out of money — and the Treasury bumps up against its borrowing limit.
All will require congressional action, and while many of these measures used to be pushed through in an almost unthinking bipartisan ritual, there is no such thing as simple in Congress anymore.
“We really don’t have 218 votes to determine a bathroom break over here on our side,” said Representative Charlie Dent, a Pennsylvania Republican. “So how are we going to get 218 votes on transportation, or trade, or whatever the issue? We might as well face the political reality of our circumstances and then act accordingly.”
The Republican leadership team, he added, “has not done a good job of managing expectations. There are too many folks with unrealistic expectations.”
Some Republicans are starting to realize that now that they're in the majority, they might have to do something other than simply be the "party of 'no.'" But what used to be rather routine budget votes, are now likely to eat up the lion's share of the GOP's time.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell put a brave face on during Face the Nation on Sunday.
“I made it very clear after the November election, we’re certainly not going to shut down the government or default on the national debt,” he said. “We’ll figure some way to handle that.”
Would that be his only worry.