Senate leadership is confident that the measure would with pass, however they will need the support of at least six Senate Republicans to pass the filibuster threshold. This solution is far from ideal, as the proposal could take about a week to move through the legislative process. That means that even if the Democrats get support, and all goes as planned, the final vote may not happen until two days before the debt ceiling deadline.
This all could be solved by Speaker John Boehner allowing a vote on fiscal legislation in the House. But, he continues to claim that there aren’t enough votes to pass a clean continuing resolution, or an increase to the debt limit. President Obama replied to the Speaker’s claim, saying, “If Republicans and Speaker Boehner [are] saying [that] there are not enough votes, then they should prove it.” However, allowing a vote would let the American people see who is really behind this economic terrorism.
It’s great that Senate Democrats are working on a plan to prevent financial disaster, but Americans would rather see Republicans end this economic hostage taking, and stop using our economy as a pawn in their political games.