GOP plan on debt gets push in House

In a caucus that is divided between Tea Party-backed insurgents who want more cuts and more moderate Republicans who want to project a united front, Boehner had a blunt message for dissenters in his party: “I can’t do this job unless you’re behind me.’’

“There is no other alternative, really, for Republicans at this point,’’ said Representative Peter King, a New York Republican. “We would weaken ourselves as a party for the next year and a half. It’s almost like a vote of no confidence in our party if we vote it down… . This goes right to the heart of where we are as a party.’’

But with just six days left before the federal government may have to stop paying some of its bills, and with the stock market falling, Congress remained at an impasse yesterday with no signs of when or how compromise could be reached.

Leaders on both sides continued to say they would reach a solution and vowed not to allow the country to default. What is politically possible may be clearer today after the House votes.

Senate majority leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said that time was running short but held out hope that a bipartisan compromise could be in the works.

“Magic things can happen here in Congress in a very short period of time under the right circumstances,’’ he said.

Even if the House approves Boehner’s plan, deep uncertainty remains over the next steps. Reid predicted yesterday that every Senate Democrat would oppose it, leaving little chance it would pass the upper chamber.

“The Boehner plan is dead,’’ said Senator Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat. “You need to get agreement, and there are talks going on to try and get that agreement.’’

The House plan had already been under fire Tuesday by conservative Republicans when it was dealt a further blow by the Congressional Budget Office. The independent office determined that the legislation would save $850 billion over the next decade - far less than the $1.2 trillion Boehner’s office had estimated.