Lobbying Push Targets New House GOP Lawmakers On Debt Ceiling Vote

[sasha031]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - They have been in Washington barely four months but the 85 first-term Republicans in the House of Representatives have found themselves the target of a massive lobbying campaign by Wall Street banks, big business and the Treasury.The fiscally conservative freshmen are under intense pressure to vote to raise the cap on U.S. borrowing so that the United States can continue to pay its bills after May 16. The Obama administration has expressed confidence that a deal can be reached with Republicans but Wall Street is less sure.

Yet there are signs the intense lobbying effort is falling flat. Many freshmen still insist they will not vote to raise the debt ceiling unless it comes with legislation to slash America's $1.4 trillion deficit. his is no ordinary class of rookie Republican lawmakers. Many are aligned with the loosely organized conservative Tea Party movement that is devoted to dramatically scaling back federal spending. After being elected to Congress from relative obscurity, they are being lavished with attention and receive almost daily warnings that a failure to raise the debt limit will trigger a global economic catastrophe.

There are invitations to meet with Wall Street executives, coffee mornings with business leaders, calls from the Treasury Department, visits from economists, and weekly hour-long meetings with John Boehner, the Republican speaker of the House. The lawmakers are reminded frequently in these meetings about the concerns America's foreign creditors, especially China, have about the prospect of a U.S. default. Chinese officials in Washington say they are watching the debate closely."There is no question about it -- there is a lot of pressure being put on the freshman," Michael Grimm, a first-term Republican from New York, told Reuters.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/20/debt-ceiling-vote-lobbying_n_851833.html


does boener have enough votes on the Dem side to raise the debt limit?

[DCKit]

1. Between the (D)s and the "old guard" (but not necessarily sane) (R)s...

it'll get done. Hopefully, not on Wall St.'s terms, either.

Regardless, I'd like to hear a LOT more talk of slashing the defense budget.