Congress has until September 30, the end of the fiscal year, to pass a temporary budget measure or see closures of all federal agencies and programs just as the administration seeks to extend the government's legal borrowing limit and secure Syria's chemical weapons.
House Speaker John Boehner appeared to cave in to the conservative wing of his Republican Party, which has threatened to vote against any deal on a temporary budget -- known as a continuing resolution, or CR -- unless it defunds President Barack Obama's landmark health care law and keeps this year's automatic spending cuts in place.
Boehner dismissed accusations he has lost control of his caucus, many of which revolted last week against a Boehner bill that would have allowed the Senate to easily strip out language to defund Obamacare as part of the CR.
"We have a plan that they're happy with, we're going forward," Boehner said. "The fight over here has been won."
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Congress has just 12 days to negotiate a temporary budget before the next looming fiscal battle: raising the country's debt ceiling.
He said Republicans would unveil a plan to extend the nation's borrowing authority, currently set at USD 16.7 trillion and which the Congressional Budget Office says will be reached in early November, but only if it delays implementation of the health care law.
The president has insisted he will not negotiate over the debt ceiling, setting up a potentially massive fiscal clash similar to the one in 2011 which sent markets reeling and cost the United States the loss of a notch in its credit rating.
"Even President Obama worked with us two years ago in the debt limit negotiations to put controls on spending," Boehner said.
"This year is not going to be any different."
Senate Majority Harry Reid said he was now awaiting whatever "absurd" legislation the House might send his way, and savaged Boehner for being beholden to "anarchists" of the far-right.