House Speaker John Boehner disagrees with Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s statement on Tuesday that conferees negotiating jobless benefits and the reimbursement rate for physicians serving Medicare patients should stay in session next week if that’s what it takes to reach an agreement.
Ohio Republican Boehner says it’s up to the Democratic leadership to seal the deal,
Politico reported.
“We continue to call upon the conferees to resolve the remaining issues — extending unemployment benefits and ensuring seniors continue to see their doctors under Medicare — by Feb. 17,” Politico quotes Pelosi as saying. The California Democrat said the Republican leadership should cancel the recess and remain in Washington next week if the issues aren’t resolved by then.
But Michael Steel, a spokesman for Boehner, told Politico, “If the president and the Senate Democratic leadership allow their conferees to negotiate a fair, bipartisan compromise, that will not be necessary.”
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