Boehner's "Plan B" fails, House on recess
House Speaker’s John Boehner’s “Plan B” fiscal cliff legislation was abandoned last night after struggling to find enough support to pass the bill. Earlier, the House did pass legislation that would stop all of the Jan. 1 tax rate increases and that would replace sequestration with entitlement cuts, including cuts to critical health care programs. Speaker Boehner called for the president to work with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on legislation to avert the fiscal cliff. The House of Representatives went on recess Thursday and will not take any votes until after Christmas. The National Rural Health Association is urging Congress to prevent the fiscal cliff and reauthorize critical rural dollars that have expired or are set to expire on December 31. Massive cuts in rural health, coupled with the mandatory 2% across-the-board sequestration cut to all Medicare providers beginning on January 2, 2013, could decimate rural health safety net providers. Many rural, fiscally-fragile facilities likely will be forced to a breaking point and will close their doors.