USA - Breach of Protocol Boehner snubs WH, invites Netanyahu to address Congress

House Speaker John Boehner on Wednesday invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress without consulting the White House, an apparent challenge to President Obama's policy on negotiations with Iran.

Netanyahu accepted the offer and will address a joint session on Feb. 11, according to a congressional aide who spoke on background because the Israeli Embassy has not yet made a public announcement.
Boehner, R-Ohio, asked Netanyahu to address the threats posed by Iran's nuclear ambitions and the rise of the Islamic State. The invite came a day after the president's State of the Union Address in which Obama warned Congress against enacting new economic sanctions against Iran.

"New sanctions passed by this Congress, at this moment in time, will all but guarantee that diplomacy fails, alienating America from its allies, and ensuring that Iran starts up its nuclear program again," Obama said Tuesday. "It doesn't make sense. That is why I will veto any new sanctions bill that threatens to undo this progress."

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the invitation to Netanyahu was a breach of diplomatic protocol, but that the White House was reserving judgment about the invitation until they had a chance to communicate with the Israelis on the prime minister's message.

Note EU-Digest: This is a complete diplomatic "Faux Pas". Has  Boehner lost his mind?


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US Congressional Chaos: House Republicans to propose one-year delay of Obamacare - by Paul Kane, Rosalind S. Helderman and David A. Fahrenthold

House Republican leaders proposed a new plan to the GOP rank-and-file Saturday afternoon: Make a new gesture of defiance toward President Obama’s health-care law, even if it increases the chances of a government shutdown Monday night.

Their proposal calls for amendments to a bill designed to keep the government open for a few more weeks. The changes would include a one-year delay in the health-care law, which is set to take effect next month. The GOP plan would also repeal, permanently, a medical-device tax included in the law.

The advantage of that plan — for Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and his team — is political. After being criticized by GOP hard-liners for not doing enough to undermine the health-care law, Boehner has taken a far more aggressive position. Instead of seeking to take away some of the money to implement Obamacare, the House GOP’s new plan would push back the whole thing.

The disadvantage is more practical: This plan is far more likely to result in a government shutdown. It may pass the House — and it may even pass Saturday. But it is not likely to pass the Democratic-held Senate or be signed by Obama.

On Saturday, in fact, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said the House’s new plan was “pointless.”

“The Senate will reject both the one-year delay of the Affordable Care Act and the repeal of the medical device tax,” Reid said in a statement, referring to the health-care law. “After weeks of futile political games from Republicans, we are still at square one: Republicans must decide whether to pass the Senate’s clean CR, or force a Republican government shutdown.”

Read more: House Republicans to propose one-year delay of Obamacare - The Washington Post