Boehner: Reid has no plan to rein in spending

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) will launch an attack on the Senate’s top Democrat on Wednesday, accusing Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) of lacking a plan to rein in spending.

Boehner, in a speech later this morning before the Credit Union National Association conference, will demand that Reid lay out a plan to reduce spending over the long haul.

“I’m not sure whether Senator Reid has a plan to cut spending and keep the government running,” Boehner will say, according to advance excerpts. “If he does, I think the American people would be interested in seeing it. If he doesn’t, I think he owes the American people an explanation.”

Reid and Boehner have been jousting over spending levels in both the short and long term.

The Senate is expected to approve a House-passed bill funding the government for another two weeks at reduced levels, though Reid had initially been critical of the Republican proposal before seeing the details. Reid and other top Democrats will have a press availability following a Senate vote on that this morning, at which point he might respond to Boehner.

The two appear to be nowhere near an agreement on legislation to fund the government the rest of this fiscal year. The House has passed legislation that would do that, but with $61 billion in cuts. Reid has called that plan unacceptable, and President Obama has threatened a veto.

Still, Boehner ramped up pressure on Reid to bring the House-passed plan up for a vote.

“It has now been 11 days since the House passed a bill to cut spending and keep the government running through September,” the Speaker will say. “Unfortunately, Sen. Reid still hasn’t taken action on this, or any other bill to keep the government running.”

Boehner said the two-week extension in government funding will give the Nevada Democrat another two weeks “to heed the will of the people,” though it’s unclear whether Reid will budge in allowing a vote on that measure.