Dems will whip against Boehner debt plan

House Democratic leaders plan to whip votes against a GOP plan to raise the debt limit and slash federal spending, the office of Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Tuesday.

The move could prove crucial, as many conservative Republicans intend to oppose the bill, perhaps leaving GOP leaders reliant on Democratic votes to pass the measure.

{mosads}The precise number of GOP “nays” remains unclear, but the Democrats’ strategy is not: They want to put the entire burden of passing the bill on the Republicans.

“Our goal is to make [Republicans] pass it on their own — if they can, that is,” said a Democratic leadership aide.

Hoyer, the minority whip, declined to predict whether the GOP bill — introduced late Monday night by House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) — could clear the House, but forecast that “very few” Democrats would support the measure.

“I don’t want to give a number on it, but very few” will vote in favor, he said. “I hope that it fails.” 

Bolstering Hoyer’s cause, Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) announced Tuesday that he’ll oppose the Republicans’ two-step plan to raise the debt ceiling.

The Blue Dog Coalition member — one of just five Democrats to support the Republicans’ “cut, cap and balance” proposal earlier in the month — hammered the GOP’s short-term approach as “fiscally irresponsible … political posturing.” The other four Democrats — Reps. Dan Boren (Okla.), Mike McIntyre (N.C.), Jim Cooper (Tenn.) and Jim Matheson (Utah) — had not weighed in on Boehner’s proposal as of press time. 

“National and international bond rating agencies have already stated that a short-term extension will result in a downgrading of America’s credit rating,” Shuler said in a statement. 

“That will mean higher mortgages, car payments and credit card interest rates for American consumers, further threatening our economic recovery,” he added.

Conservatives had favored the Republicans’ “cut, cap and balance” approach, which passed the House this month but failed in the Senate. 

A number of those conservatives have come out in opposition to the Boehner bill. 

“I want a solution, not a deal,” Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), one such opponent, said Monday.

Further complicating the equation for GOP leaders, observers note that there’s little incentive for on-the-fence Republicans to stick their necks out in support of a measure that’s expected to die in the Senate. Instead, it would simply open them up to attacks from the Tea Party and other conservative groups that oppose the measure. 

The Speaker’s plan would hike the debt ceiling by up to $1 trillion, allowing the government to pay its bills until early next year, when Congress would have to revisit the issue. It also would impose $1.2 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years.

Hoyer slammed the proposal and urged Congress to pass an alternative bill proposed by Senate Democrats.

Hoyer said the Senate bill, sponsored by Democratic Leader Harry Reid (Nev.), is “not the plan that I would have been for,  not the plan that I like.” But, he added, it was “far preferable to any risk of default.”

“The Reid plan is the way to get out of [the current impasse],” Hoyer said. “Reid incorporates everything that [the Republicans] asked for. Period.”

Hoyer predicted that “very close to all” House Democrats would support the Reid plan if it were to reach the House floor. But some senior Democrats aren’t holding their breath that House GOP leaders will allow it to be considered.

“The point about Sen. Reid’s plan is that we’ll never get to vote on it,” Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said Monday evening.

Many GOP leaders, including House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (Va.), had opposed a short-term fix as recently as a few weeks ago, but now are insisting on that strategy.

Hoyer on Monday charged GOP leaders with flip-flopping solely to force President Obama to endorse an unpopular policy just months before the 2012 election.

“It’s about presidential politics — trying to make the president look bad — and I think it’s undermining America in the process,” Hoyer said.

By contrast, Reid is pushing a $2.7 trillion increase to the debt ceiling to set government spending through the end of 2012. 

The lawmakers are running short on time. The Treasury Department says it has the cash to pay the country’s obligations only through Aug. 2, putting mounting pressure on Congress to act before then to prevent a government default.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Tuesday accused Republicans of using the specter of deficit spending as “an excuse” to dismantle government programs. 

“They don’t just want to make cuts,” Pelosi said. “They want to destroy food safety, clean air, clean water, the Department of Education.

“They are riding an engine of popular support.”

This story was originally posted at 4:11 p.m. and updated at 7:55 p.m.