December 8, 2013  Beltway Confidential  House dares Senate
Democrats to vote against paying troops   House Speaker John
Boehner, R-Ohio, wants to take the sting out of a government
shutdown.  He announced that Republicans will vote to delay
Obamacare for one year and repeal the medical device tax as part
of the continuing resolution now before Congress.  Boehner also
said Republicans will vote to pay the military in the event that
Senate Democrats reject the government funding measure.  “The
first amendment delays the president’s health care law by one
year. And the second permanently repeals Obamacare’s medical
device tax that is sending jobs overseas," Boehner said in a
joint statement with House Republican leaders following a
conference meeting Saturday. "We will also vote on a measure
that ensures our troops get paid, no matter what."  Sen. Ted
Cruz, R-Texas, who led the push to use the CR as a mechanism for
defunding Obamacare, hailed the strategy as a "terrific idea"
during an interview Friday evening.