As House Republicans work to unveil a debt ceiling proposal tied to long-coveted spending cuts from conservatives, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is privately urging his fellow Republicans to unite behind the plan.
The plan, which is expected to get a vote on the House floor in the coming weeks, will allow the U.S. to continue paying its obligations into 2024 and include numerous spending cuts. It could serve as a starting point for negotiations between House Republicans and President Joe Biden, who has refused any budgetary discussions with GOP lawmakers until they provide spending specifics.
“Here’s our plan. In the coming weeks the House will vote on a bill to lift the debt ceiling into the next year, save taxpayers trillions of dollars, make us less dependent on China, curb our high inflation, all without touching Social Security and Medicare,” McCarthy, R-Calif., said in a speech Monday at the New York Stock Exchange.
The proposal includes rolling back federal spending to fiscal year 2022 levels, limiting the growth of spending to 1% annually and establishing new work requirements for recipients of government aid.
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McCarthy’s next big test as speaker – wrangling 218 GOP votes
The proposal has next to no chance of passing the Democratic-controlled Senate or earning Biden’s signature. But the proposal will be McCarthy’s next big test as speaker as he tries to prove he can unite a narrow GOP majority behind a clear plan and improve his negotiating position with the White House.
“President Biden has maxed out the nation’s credit card. He’s done it by reckless spending, and here we’re going to be rolling out a plan to address that problem,” said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., at a news conference Monday celebrating the first 100 days of the GOP-controlled House.
‘A ticking time bomb’:House Speaker Kevin McCarthy says House will vote on debt limit
Debt limit fight continues
House Democrats have indicated they will not help House Republicans at all, echoing the White House’s sentiments and calling for a clean debt ceiling increase with separate budgetary discussions.
“When it comes to debts and deficits and spending, we’re happy to have those conversations in the Budget Committee if Republicans choose to put up a budget blueprint or budget,” House Democratic Chair Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., said at a news conference Tuesday. “If Republicans put up a budget, we’re happy to look at that.
“When it comes to the full faith and credit of the United States and paying our bills, those are separate conversations.”
But McCarthy reiterated there is zero chance the House will push through a clean debt ceiling increase.
“A no-strings-attached debt limit increase will not pass,” McCarthy said.
Related:Biden slams conservative Republicans spending demands amid debt ceiling debate
Debt ceiling looms over Congress
McCarthy has repeatedly chastised Biden for his unwillingness to restart debt ceiling talks.
“Mr. President, with all due respect, enough is enough. This is not how the leader of the free world should act,” McCarthy said, pinning a potential catastrophic U.S. default on the White House. “Your partisan political games are provoking the very crisis you claim to avoid.”
The U.S. could default on its obligations as early as this summer, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Should that happen, it could trigger a global economic crisis.
