House Republicans said they want to eliminate several provisions from a working version of the financial rescue bill as principles from both sides of the Capitol went into negotiations Saturday afternoon.
House GOP Leader John Boehner (Ohio) said a number of issues must still be settled as Congress tries to reach a deal quickly.
“There are a lot of [issues] still on the table and while I think there’s good will between both chambers and both parties there are a lot of conversations still occurring” Boehner said.
Republican Policy Chairman Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.) said earlier on Saturday that putting an arbitrary deadline on a final bailout bill would lead to electoral disaster in November.
McCotter warned against raising the expectations of investors, who would react poorly and “spark” a downturn if congressional negotiators were not able to reach a deal on legislation by Sunday. He said that, if the hypothetical deal failed because of House Republican misgivings, they would ultimately face the wrath of voters if an economic meltdown ensued.
"The irresponsible desire to meet a deadline solely for the sake of meeting a deadline will produce an ‘agreement’ that does NOT protect taxpayers from this bailout,” he said. “Thus, the public will be outraged a month before the election; principled House Republicans will view any internal whip count as a political dead pool; and the irresponsible, anti-taxpayer ‘agreement’ will fail. … This avoidable outcome, too, could lead to a catastrophic economic meltdown.”
Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) laid out several items his conference want kept out of a final bill at a press conference held by GOP House leaders minutes before a negotiating session in Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) office.
GOPers also want to eliminate a Democratic provision that would dedicate a portion of any profits from the eventual sale of purchased assets to an affordable housing fund the GOP has said would benefit groups tied to Democrats.
Blunt said negotiators traded calls into the evening Friday on the potential details of the bill as staff worked into the early hours of the morning.
“My last discussion last night was at 11:30, my first discussion this morning was at 6:30, I’ve been on the phone with Chairman [Barney] Frank more than once and with others who are involved with this,” Blunt said, referencing the Democratic chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.
Pelosi, Sens. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) and Blunt met in Pelosi’s office around 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon.
Earlier, McCotter criticized Republican negotiators for rushing to build a consensus.
“With some Republican leaders of Congress imposing an arbitrary deadline of Sunday at midnight on negotiations, the results could prove disastrous for all Americans,” he said.
McCotter is part of the group of House Republicans, led by Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), working on an alternative bailout proposal. His objection could signal early issues with members of the Republican Conference who initially balked at the $700 billion bill, causing their leadership to pull back from early compromise negotiations.
Blunt told ABC's Good Morning America on Saturday that, while Sunday is the goal, the quality of the product would take precedence over any hard and fast deadline.
“The Sunday deadline is an important deadline,” Blunt said. “But it more important to get this right than it is to meet a deadline… We hope we can get this done this weekend.”
He said on Fox and Friends later in the morning that the bill could take until Thursday or Friday to take shape.
“Well, it needs to happen by Sunday, if it doesn't happen by Sunday, it could be Thursday or Friday of next week,” Blunt said. “There may be a point when we realize that the majority that’s in control isn’t going to do this on their own and come up with the bill that Republicans in the House can vote for.”
