This is not exactly the clean bill Obama asked for up front, but it is pretty close.
WASHINGTON (AP) — With compromise talks at a vituperative standstill, Senate Republicans unexpectedly offered Tuesday to hand President Barack Obama new powers to avert the first-ever government default threatened for Aug. 2.
Under a proposal outlined by Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Obama could request increases of up to $2.4 trillion in the government’s borrowing authority in three separate installments over the next year, as long as he simultaneously proposed spending cuts of greater size.
The “three installments” gimmick is designed to allow Republican to rant hysterically about the hated Kenyan usurper while taking away their ability to accidentally cripple the economy.