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Rep. Dent: House Has Enough Votes for 'Clean CR'
Monday, October 7, 2013 08:00 PM
By: Greg Richter
U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent is among 14 House Republicans who have publicly said they would vote for a "clean" continuing resolution — not tied to defunding Obamacare — and he says there are plenty more.
Dent, appearing Monday on CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer," said that members have told him privately they would vote for a "clean CR" if it comes up for a vote.
A total of 217 representatives are needed to pass the resolution. Other reports show 20 or more Republicans promising to vote for a clean continuing resolution.
House Speaker John Boehner has refused to allow a vote, saying it would not pass. The Republican-led House is in a battle with the Democratic-controlled Senate and White House over keeping the federal government funded and ending a partial shutdown that began Oct. 1.
"I believe a clean CR would pass the House comfortably," Dent, , R-Pa., told CNN, though he would not predict a specific vote tally.
Many House members are concerned about facing tea party opposition in primaries, Dent said, adding that he constantly tells his colleagues to govern based not on fear, but on what they think is right.
Dent himself said he opposes the Affordable Care Act, but thinks defunding it should not be tied to the continuing resolution.
"I've voted to delay it, to repeal it, to defund it, to fricassee it, but as long as you have a Senate controlled by Harry Reid and a president named Barack Obama, that's not going to happen," Dent said. "So, at this point we have to take what we can get."
The Washington Post's Ezra Klein tweets that the votes are available:
