Speaker of the House John Boehner says his caucus is prepared to lead except they don’t have any plans to actually lead. Or something.
“We’ll lead,” Boehner pledged, “and our members will not shy away from advancing better solutions for the American people.”
But when pressed on whether the House would actually hold votes on major legislation in 2014, the Speaker quickly backed away, and wouldn’t commit to anything more than continued “conversations” in the coming month.
Several weeks ago I opined that the anti-choice No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act would be the last bill the Republican caucus would pass on its own this year and so far there have been no signs that I’m incorrect.
Both House and Senate Republican leadership have taken a dump on their latest tax reform proposal, and according to a recent poll by Roll Call only 19 out over 200 House Republicans will openly support the immigration reform principles put forth at their own policy retreat.
Given that a budget and a farm bill have already been signed into law, there’s very little the House absolutely must act on before next Fall. And, as you may have noticed, the House rarely acts unless it must.
Unless they decided to pass yet another abortion bill or rename a post office, the House will be in lame duck territory from now until 2015.
Now, why won’t President Obama lead?