There seems to be some confusion over why the House GOP’s new proposal is still extortion while the Senate deal that Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell brokered yesterday isn’t so let’s break this down.
In both deals, the continuing resolution lasts until January 15 and the debt ceiling is raised until February 7. As the White House has made abundantly clear, these are not concessions from either side. This is simply Congress doing its job.
Here’s how the Senate proposal shapes up:
Republicans get: Democrats Get:
- Income verification • Delay of reinsurance fee
There will also be a budget negotiation that occurs under the McConnell-Reid deal. See how both sides get something from each other?
Here’s the new House GOP plan:
Republicans get: Democrats Get:
- Income verification
- Two-year delay of medical device tax
- Version of Vitter Amendment
- Ban on extraordinary measures
So, what exactly do Democrats get out of this? Nothing. House Republicans are still demanding concessions in return for funding the government and not defaulting. It’s the same hostage-taking tactics they’ve been using all along. Boehner and Co. have reduced their ransom demands significantly, which is why there is a lot of optimism that a deal will eventually get done, but it’s still ransom. That’s why the White House and Senate Democrats are vehemently against this plan. They are adamant that they will not agree to any deal that sets a precedent for using the debt ceiling as an extortion device and the House GOP plan still does that.
Danny Vinik 
Okay, dealing is still dealing. So Republicans get something and (allegedly) give something to get CR and debt ceiling extension for a few months. Senate may call it bipartisan but I see no end to extortion in the future.
The reinsurance tax is the deal that insurance companies agreed to to lower premiums by 10% because it mitigates some of the risk. If the reinsurance tax is delayed for 2015, there will be increases in 2015 and Republicans will scream that ACA is a sham. Yes, yes, I know they will scream it anyway but I prefer that there are no actual numbers to back it up.
The unions are happier but ACA is weaker.
The dynamic doesn’t change. WH and Reid DID ‘negotiate’ in order to get a couple of months. Hey, I don’t have the answers to how to end this mess, but this is still same-old, same-old.
If the deal put some real conditions on this tactic in the future, I think it would be worth it. But even this Obamabot is now re-thinking all of my support for the compromises in the past, since the ante continues to go up. I don’t see this deal changing the dynamic one iota.
Am I wrong? Prove me wrong and talk me down.