Boehner's New Offer: No Fight Over Debt Ceiling

Dems see progress in fiscal-cliff negotiations
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 17, 2012 7:50 AM CST
Boehner's New Offer: No Fight Over Debt Ceiling
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

John Boehner has made another big offer in the fiscal-cliff debate: He's willing to delay any battle over the debt ceiling for a year. With a new debt-ceiling showdown expected in the coming months, Boehner's offer to let the ceiling rise means giving up a key bargaining chip for spending cuts, the Washington Post notes. But "any debt limit increase would require cuts and reforms of a greater amount," says a Boehner rep; Boehner wants spending cuts to surpass the debt ceiling increase. President Obama has rejected Boehner's latest offer, and the two haven't spoken directly since Friday. Still, Democrats see the potential concession as a big step forward in negotiations, says an insider. (More John Boehner stories.)

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