Republicans Planning To Tie Debt Ceiling Increase To Restoring Military Benefits

Bill might not make it to the floor of the House

After a few weeks of vote searching — and a good deal of soul searching — House Republicans say they think their best hope of raising the debt ceiling is to tie it to restoring pension cuts for retired soldiers.

But even that might not work.

The most recent strategy — unveiled in a private Monday night meeting in the Capitol — is meant to maximize Republican support, while daring Democrats to vote against restoring military benefit cuts. The vote is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, but top Republicans concede the bill might never make it to the floor — they won't bring up a bill that won't pass. Republicans cannot pass it by themselves, and Democrats likely won't help push it over the edge. Senior Senate sources say it is likely a nonstarter in their chamber — they've constantly advocated for a debt-limit hike without extraneous policy provisions. On Monday, the Senate advanced a fix to military cost-of-living adjustments on its own, by a whopping 94-0.