A salty Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Tuesday told members of the Senate to “get off their ass” and pass a bill to replace the $85 billion in across-the-board spending cuts that will go into effect on March 1.
“We have moved a bill in the House twice. We should not have to move a third bill before the Senate gets off their ass and begins to do something,” Boehner told reporters in a press conference, repeating a message he had just delivered in a closed-door meeting of the House Republican conference.
The House in 2012 approved measures twice to replace the cuts known as sequestration, but because a new Congress began in January, those bills are now inoperative. Still, Boehner has been adamant that the Senate move first in 2013 if Democrats want to stave off the cuts to military and domestic programs.
“It’s time for the Senate to act,” Boehner said. “It’s not about the House. We’ve acted.”
The House is not scheduled to be in session Friday, when the cuts will begin to take effect, but the Speaker said the lower chamber would be prepared to respond to Senate action.
“If the Senate acts, I’m sure the House will act quickly,” he said.
The Senate plans to vote on two competing measures to replace or modify the sequester, but neither is expected to achieve the 60-vote threshold needed to advance.
For more on Boehner's comments click here.
