(UnitedVoice.com) – When Republicans took control of the House, it was apparent from the very beginning that there would be a fight over the debt ceiling this summer. That is the amount of money the Treasury Department is allowed to borrow to pay for the spending Congress has already approved. The department has warned the government will meet that limit in June.
Republicans are demanding massive spending cuts, and in return, they will raise the debt ceiling. The House recently passed a bill that would do just that. But the White House has made it clear that the president has no intention of signing it.
House Passes Bill
On April 26, the House of Representatives narrowly passed the GOP bill, the Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023, to raise the debt ceiling. The legislation, which passed 217 to 215, would raise the debt ceiling into next year. In exchange, it would place caps on the government’s spending for the next decade, limiting annual increases to 1%.
Spending would be cut by almost 14%, and many of the victories President Joe Biden scored last year. The Republican compromise would impose new work limits on SNAP (food stamp) and Medicaid benefits, roll back parts of the bipartisan Inflation Reduction Act, and expand fossil fuel production. It would pull back pandemic funds that weren’t spent yet and rescind some of the money given to the IRS to improve operations.
NBC News reported that Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said the Republican Party has voted to lift “the debt ceiling […] Democrats have not.” While his caucus voted, the bill is almost certainly dead on arrival in the Senate. And the White House is already making threats.
The White House
The Biden administration has repeatedly said it doesn’t intend to negotiate with House Republicans while there is a default looming. Earlier this month, White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Shalanda Young told CBS News the administration wants a clean bill passed first, then they can negotiate a future bill.
As House Speaker McCarthy unveiled the GOP bill to raise the debt ceiling Wednesday, @MajorCBS asked the Biden White House's top debt ceiling negotiator, OMB Dir. Shalanda Young, about several points in McCarthy's plan— including returning discretionary spending to "2022 levels." pic.twitter.com/oSsqT2FrFn
— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 19, 2023
On Tuesday, April 25, CBS News reported the OMB called the GOP bill a “reckless attempt to extract extreme concessions as a condition” to pay the bills the US already owes. It went further, saying the legislation would result in widespread job loss, a possible default, recession, and higher interest rates. They called it “devastating” to the middle class and American workers. For that reason, President Biden would veto it if it ever made it to his desk.
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