Politics

House To Vote on Senate Government Shutdown, Debt Ceiling Plan

Unclear if Obama will have a bill to sign by today

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The House will vote first on an emerging Senate proposal to open government and lift the debt ceiling, a move that would expedite bipartisan legislation developed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

If the House passes the bill first and sends it to the upper chamber, it would eliminate some burdensome procedural hurdles in the Senate and require just one procedural roll call with a 60-vote threshold needed to advance the bill toward final passage in the Senate. It could be an extraordinarily risky play for Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), because it's far from clear any Senate proposal would garner the majority of the House Republican Conference.