The Hill News

A Republican congressman on Monday predicted the consideration of another stopgap spending measure could seriously divide his party and damage its credibility with voters.

Top Democrats such as President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) would fold if Republicans pressured them on spending cuts with a united front, said Rep. Michael Burgess (Texas). But the GOP could face deep problems if they were forced to accept another short-term measure.

{mosads}"It is going to divide us terribly and really damage whatever credibility the Republicans have been able to restore in the last three months, it will be gone with another short-term continuing resolution," he said during an interview on the conservative Radio America program. 

B! urgess's comments spell out in part what Republicans are looking to avoid going into negotiations with Democrats over a long-term spending bill, which will resume in earnest after this week's recess period.

Congressional leaders in both political parties have said they want the second stopgap measure, which cut $6 billion, to be the last of its kind.

But Republican leaders appear to face dueling tensions heading into the negotiations. Conservative members of the caucus want to push through a bill with deep spending cut! s and policy provisions attached, like the defunding of Obama's healthcare law. 

Burgess said that GOP conference members want in the next bill "all of the cuts people want to see and getting at the funding of ObamaCare."

"They're not taking out all of it, and I understand that," he said. "But we at least got to get a down-payment on where the defunding comes from."

Democrats, however, argue, that House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is not in a position to accomplish that goal, with Democrats controlling the Senate and White House. They point to the fact that 54 Republicans broke with leaders on the last short-term bill as evidence that Boehner has a weakened hand and should instead join with their party to negotiate a spending proposal.

"In order to avert a shutdown, Speaker Boehner should consider leaving the Tea Party behind and instead seek a consensus in the House among moderate Republicans and a group of Democrats," Sen. Char! les Schumer (D-N.Y.) said two weeks ago.

Boehner has blamed the stalemate over the Democrats' unwillingness to accept serious cuts.

"It’s up to the Senate and the White House to offer a credible plan to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year while delivering the spending cuts Americans are demanding," he said in a statement last week.

But Burgess said that his conference is beginning to fray -- he admitted that he voted for the last measure to avoid being "ostracized" by leaders â€" and it is time for the GOP to stand strong.

"Really, the time for compromising has long since past," he said.