House GOP freshmen: We're behind Boehner debt plan

[July 29, 2011]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republican freshmen who helped win the House's majority for their class last year are falling behind Speaker John Boehner's plan raise the debt limit.

More than a dozen of the GOP rookies told reporters that virtually all of the 87-member class is now backing Boehner's plan. Most of the first-term GOP lawmakers said they'd only decided to vote yes in the last few days.

Key to their decision, they said, was a commitment to hold a vote on a constitutional amendment to balance the budget. And they bristled at the notion by tea party activists that the bill, and their support for it, is a compromise that amounts to failure.

To the contrary, replied New York Republican Ann Marie Buerkle. She said that compromise is leadership.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.