House Passes 'Clean' Debt Ceiling Increase, Without Conditions – Here Are the 28 Republicans Who Voted for It

WASHINGTON (TheBlaze/AP) -- House Republicans backed away from a battle over the government's debt cap on Tuesday and permitted President Barack Obama's Democratic allies to drive quick passage of a measure to increase the government's borrowing cap without any concessions from the White House.

The 221-201 vote came hours after Speaker John Boehner announced that his fractured party would relent.

Just 28 Republicans voted for the measure, including Boehner. But 193 Democrats more than compensated for the low support among Republicans.

FILE - In this Feb. 6, 2014 file photo, House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. In a concession to President Barack Obama and Democratic lawmakers, Boehner said Tuesday the House will vote to increase the government's borrowing cap without trying to attach conditions sought by some Republicans. "We'll let his party give him the debt ceiling increase that he wants," Boehner said, hours before the expected evening vote. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

The move risks more displeasure from the tea party but came after most Republicans in the House made clear they had no taste for another high-stakes fight with President Barack Obama over the nation's debt ceiling, which must be raised so the government can borrow money to pay all of its bills.

The bill would permit the Treasury Department to borrow normally for another 13 months, diffusing the chance of a debt crisis well past the November elections and providing time for a newly elected Congress to decide how to handle the issue.

In total, 221 lawmakers voted for the debt ceiling increase, including 28 Republicans. Additionally, 201 voted against it and 10 didn't vote.

Here's the final vote tally:

---- YEAS    221 ---

---- NAYS    201 ---

---- NOT VOTING    10 ---

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The Republicans who voted for the "clean" debt limit increase include:

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.), Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), Rep. Howard Coble (R-N.C.), Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Rep. Michael Grimm (N.Y.), Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.), Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.), Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-Pa.), Rep. Gary Miller (R-Calif.), Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Wash.), Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.), Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.), Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.), Rep. Jon Runyan (R-N.J.), Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.), Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.), Rep. Richard Hanna (R-N.Y.), and Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.).

Unsurprisingly, most of the lawmakers represent left-leaning states like New York, California, New Jersey and Illinois.

Just a few of the just as unsurprising names who voted against the debt limit increase:

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas), Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.). See the full list above.

Just Monday, Republicans suggested pairing the debt measure with legislation to roll back a recent cut in the inflation adjustment of pension benefits for working age military retirees. Democrats insisted on a debt measure completely clean of unrelated legislation.

"The full faith and credit (of the United States) should be unquestioned and it is not negotiable," said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

The vote comes four months after Washington defused a government shutdown and debt crisis that burned Republicans politically - an experience they did not want to repeat.

Tuesday's developments, which many Capitol Hill insiders saw coming, mark a reversal of the GOP's strategy of trying to use the debt limit to force spending cuts or other concessions on Obama. The president yielded to such demands in 2011 - before his re-election - but has since boxed in Republicans by refusing to negotiate.

"I am disappointed that Democrats have walked away from the table," said Dave Camp, R-Mich., the glum chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. "But for as disappointed as I am, I cannot in good conscience let the Democrats' refusal to engage, lead to a default."

Boehner, R-Ohio, made the announcement after conservatives failed to rally around his latest plan, floated Monday, to tie lifting the debt ceiling to a measure to reverse cuts to military pensions that were enacted less than two months ago. Earlier plans to tie a debt cap increase to approval of the Keystone XL pipeline or repeal of part of the new health care law failed as well, stymied by a group of hard line conservatives who vowed never to vote for increasing the government's debt, which stands at more than $17 trillion.

The measure does not raise the debt limit by a set amount but would suspend it through March 15, 2015, to allow Treasury to borrow the money it needs to pay bills like Social Security benefits, payments on government debt, and checks for federal workers.

The move reflects a return to the old ways of handling the politically tricky debt ceiling vote in which the president's party is expected to carry most of the load to pass it.

"We'll let the Democrats put the votes up," the speaker said. "We'll put a minimum number of (GOP) votes up to get it passed."

"That's how it's supposed to work," said Vice President Joe Biden at the Capitol after swearing in the newest senator, John Walsh, D-Mont.

Boehner said his inability to assemble 218 GOP votes - enough to win a floor vote - for any debt limit plan left him no alternative but to turn to Democrats.

"When you don't have 218 votes, you have nothing," Boehner said. "We've seen that before and we see it again."

President Barack Obama and first lady Michele Obama stand and applaud after USAID administrator Raj Shah spoke at the 62nd National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2014. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

The White House applauded the move. Gene Sperling, director of the White House's National Economic Council, said the administration hopes Tuesday's development means "that the tactic of threatening default or threatening the full faith and credit of the United States for budget debates is over, off the table and never is going to happen again. And if so that would, I think, be a boost for confidence and investment in the US."

Obama's refusal to negotiate, GOP disunity, and Boehner's determination to avoid the possibility of a market-cratering default on U.S. obligations gave the Ohio Republican little choice but to announce the vote on a "clean" debt ceiling increase.

"It's disappointing but we have an intractable White House," said Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif. "This is a hard deal for us but it's also important that we keep the country operating and the financial markets stable, so this is the thing we have to take until somehow there's a change in attitude in the Senate or the White House or a change of occupancy of the Senate or the White House."

The announcement amounted to resigned defeat for a party that has sought to use must-pass debt ceiling measures as leverage to force spending cuts on Democrats. Republicans won more than $2 trillion in spending cuts in a 2011 showdown, but gave Obama two debt limit increases last year with only modest add-ons.

"The Democrats got burned when we negotiated and that led to the sequester, and we learned our lesson," said Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt. "And the Republicans got burned when they shut the government down."

The House voted 326-90 Tuesday on separate legislation to restore full cost-of-living increases that were to have been cut by 1 percent for retirees under 62. The cuts, which had just passed in December, were backed by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis. Repealing them would cost $7 billion over the coming decade, the Congressional Budget Office said Monday.

The reduction caused an uproar among advocates for veterans, and lawmakers in both parties are scrambling to repeal it.