Congress Economy

Get Ready for the Next Hostage Crisis

House Speaker John Boehner says the only way the House will approve the next hike of the national debt ceiling is if it’s accompanied by “dollar for dollar” spending cuts.

“Dollar for dollar is the plan,” Boehner told reporters, adding that there have been no major talks on the debt limit at this point.

“The president has been clear that he’s not going to address our entitlement crisis unless we’re willing to raise taxes. I think the tax issue has been resolved,” said Boehner. “So at this point then, I don’t know how we’re going to go forward.”

Given that the president has won and the GOP has lost every single previous time they decided to take the debt ceiling hostage, I’m not going to worry about the next time, but we should spread John Boehner’s word that the emergence of another hostage crisis is his intention.

The longer GOP obstruction in the House continues, even if it’s ultimately ineffectual, the greater chance it has of impacting the 2014 election.