Excerpt
GWEN IFILL (Newshour): On Monday, the president laid out his agenda for his second term in office. Today, House Republicans took their first step to position themselves for a series of upcoming fiscal battles.
MAN: The gentleman is recognized.
GWEN IFILL: On the House floor today, Speaker John Boehner called the Republican bill pretty simple.
REP. JOHN BOEHNER, R-Ohio: It says that there should be no long-term increase in the debt limit until there's a long-term plan to deal with the fiscal crisis that faces our country.
GWEN IFILL: Today, the House opted for short-term, temporarily lifting the debt ceiling until May 19, then resetting the cap to cover any borrowing over the current limit, $16.4 trillion. And for now, Republicans will not force immediate spending cuts.
The party's new strategy would achieve that goal by forcing Congress to pass a budget.
House Budget Committee chair and last year's vice presidential nominee, Paul Ryan:
REP. PAUL RYAN, R- Wis.: And here's the point. We have a law. It's called the Budget Act. It requires that Congress passes a budget by April 15. All we're saying is, Congress, follow the law, do your work, budget. And the reason for this extension is so that we can have the debate we need to have.
GWEN IFILL: As added incentive, the House bill says, if there is no budget, lawmakers won't get paid.
For once I agree with a Republican. Paul Ryan's comment hits the nail on the head.
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