House Republicans want to push the debt limit extension deadline to April, in the hopes of forcing Senate Democrats to pass a budget with spending cuts in order to secure a longer-term extension. "Next week, we will authorize a three month temporary debt limit increase to give the Senate and House time to pass a budget," House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said in a statement Friday. "Furthermore, if the Senate or House fails to pass a budget in that time, members of Congress will not be paid by the American people for failing to do their job. No budget, no pay." The specifics of the House GOP budget have been roundly ridiculed by Senate Democrats, while the Senate's failure to pass a budget of its own has been slammed by Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who called the lack of a Senate budget "a shameful record." How the House GOP's plans might pan out, however, is unclear: The party had one of its worst-ever unfavorable ratings in Thursday's NBC News poll, and the White House has steadfastly refused to bargain over the debt limit.
