John Boehner prods Senate Democrats to put a budget proposal on the table

John Boehner prods Senate Democrats to put a budget proposal on the table

House Speaker John Boehner, noting that the Senate has not approved a budget plan, says: 'Pass the damn thing, all right? And send it over here.' Meanwhile, House GOP leaders say they will vote Friday to make their budget proposal the 'law of the land' if the Senate fails to act.

By Lisa Mascaro, Washington Bureau
9:30 AM PDT, March 30, 2011

WASHINGTON — House Speaker John Boehner said Wednesday that if Senate Democrats have a new budget offer to put on the table to avoid a government shutdown, they should quit talking about it and act.

"Pass the damn thing, all right? And send it over here," Boehner told reporters Wednesday.

House GOP leaders also announced they will vote Friday to make their proposal for $61 billion in cuts the "law of the land" if the Senate fails to act by April 8, when the current spending bill expires.

How exactly such legislation would pass constitutional muster is unclear, as the Senate has already voted against that bill and President Obama has vowed to veto it.

But Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), the majority leader, said the legislation was needed because of the Senate inaction. The legislation would also halt paychecks for lawmakers if the government is shut down, as a Senate-passed bill already demands.

House Republicans have grown increasingly frustrated that Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), the majority leader, has failed to bring the Senate Democrats' proposal to the floor.

Democrats say they have proposed $20 billion in cuts over the remainder of the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, but maintain that Republicans are being pressured by "tea party" conservatives to hold out for steeper cuts. Coupled with $10 billion in cuts already passed into law, Democrats say they are meeting Republicans halfway.

The two sides remain about $6 billion apart. As negotiations broke down last week, negotiators for Reid and Boehner have continued talking during the stalemate. But they resumed more formal discussions on Tuesday night.

Democrats have said they will put their proposal on the table when Republicans are ready to negotiate.

Republicans have questioned who is in charge of the Senate — Reid, or the No. 3 Democrat, Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, who oversees the Democrats' message duties and disclosed his strategy of targeting Republicans as "extreme" during a conference call this week when he did not realize reporters were on the line, according to reports.