Senate moves to quickly dismiss Boehner debt plan

By Alexander Bolton and Josiah Ryan - 07/28/11 01:04 PM ET

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said the Senate would vote Thursday night on House Speaker John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) plan to raise the debt limit.

In a move that is likely to anger House Republicans, the vote will be on a motion to table Boehner’s plan, a senior Democratic aide told The Hill.

That vote will allow Reid to quickly dismiss the Boehner measure, as it requires a simple majority to circumvent the hours of debate generally demanded by Senate rules to move something through the chamber.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) responded by accusing the majority of attempting to "block" Boehner's legislation. “It’s inconceivable to me that they would actually block the only bill that could get through the House of Representatives and prevent a default right now," McConnell told the The Hill in an email statement.

Reid blasted Boehner’s measure from the Senate floor, one day after all 53 Senate Democrats sent a letter vowing to oppose it.

“Economists have said a short-term deal holds many of the same risks as a technical default,” Reid said. “Democrats are not willing to put our economy on the line like that. Our economy and the financial markets desperately need stability. Speaker Boehner’s bill does not provide it.

“It is time for Tea Party Republicans to stop resisting compromise. They must join Democrats in putting the good of our economy ahead of politics.”

Democrats oppose Boehner’s plan because it would raise the debt limit by only $900 billion, enough to extend the nation’s borrowing authority only until the end of the year.

White House officials warn economic uncertainty created by an end-of-year debt-limit debate could hurt the Christmas shopping season, traditionally an important time for the domestic economy.

A House vote on Boehner’s plan is scheduled for late Thursday afternoon.

Watch Reid below.