Start of a thaw? Boehner offers temporary debt ceiling increase

WASHINGTON -- House Speaker John A. Boehner on Thursday floated a proposal for a six-week extension of the federal debt limit -- no conditions attached -- but it was unclear if his fellow Republicans would support it.


Even some GOP leaders on Boehner's team balked at the proposal because it failed to include any of the party’s demands for cutting spending or blocking President Obama’s healthcare law.

The proposal would not reopen government agencies currently closed for lack of funds.

The White House panned the idea because it did not include a reopening of government agencies, but indicated that the short-term nature of Boehner’s plan would be acceptable.

“Congress needs to pass a clean debt limit increase and a funding bill to reopen the government,” a White House official said in a statement.

“Once Republicans in Congress act to remove the threat of default and end this harmful government shutdown, the President will be willing to negotiate on a broader budget agreement,” the official said.

Despite the continued sharp rhetoric in Washington, financial markets rose sharply on indications that a deal was in the works.

Earlier in the day, Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew repeated his warnings that failure to raise the debt ceiling by Oct. 17 could “deeply damage" the economic recovery and "the jobs and savings of millions of Americans."

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