Global Courant 2023-05-31 16:00:00
WASHINGTON — The Republican-controlled House is set to vote Wednesday on debt ceiling legislation that Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden negotiated, a moment when the stakes are high for the bill that aims to create a . to avoid catastrophic bankruptcy.
While the McCarthy-Biden deal has drawn heavy criticism from GOP hardliners who have argued that the cuts and conservative provisions are too weak, the House Rules Committee voted 7-6 Tuesday night to send the measure to the floor, an important signal from support ahead of Wednesday’s vote.
“I’m confident we’ll pass the bill,” McCarthy, R-Calif., told reporters Tuesday.
If the bill makes it through the House, it will go to the Democrat-led Senate, where it will need 60 votes before it can get on Biden’s desk. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D.N.Y., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., both endorsed it.
The White House has pushed for early approval of the measure as the US approaches Monday’s deadline to address the debt ceiling or face an economically catastrophic default on the national debt. The deal includes a two-year extension of the debt limit coupled with a two-year budget deal with modest cuts.
Republican leaders in the House expect to lose votes, especially from hard-right members who say the deal isn’t aggressive enough to push through budget cuts to get their approval. That means some Democrats will be needed to get it across the finish line, though Democratic leaders say the primary responsibility lies with Republicans.
“My expectation is that House Republicans will stick to their commitment to produce at least two-thirds of their conference vote, which equates to about 150 votes,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, DN.Y., told reporters Tuesday. “Democrats are determined to make sure we do our part and avoid default.”
Jeffries would not say how many Democrats would vote for the bill, but he said he is confident the country will raise the debt ceiling in time.
McCarthy said he hasn’t spoken to Jeffries about how many Democratic votes he will need, but said he expects Wednesday’s final vote to be bipartisan.
“Anytime there’s a bipartisan agreement, there’s always two parties that end up voting for it,” McCarthy said.
Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., said he is “a yes vote” and predicted that “a vast majority” of House GOP members would support the bill. “It’s a pretty good bill, and it’s responsible,” he said.
“Our only rule was the majority of the majority” should support any bill for McCarthy to bring it to the table, Bacon said. He added that it will provide “much more than just half” of the conference.
The legislation would limit spending for the next two years. It includes conservative measures that would reclaim about $28 billion in unused Covid resources, eliminate $1.4 billion in IRS funding, and shift about $20 billion of the $80 billion the IRS got through the Inflation Reduction Act to non-defensive financing.
The bill would also resume federal student loan payments after a long hiatus that began at the start of the pandemic. And it would add employment requirements for people up to age 55 to receive benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (the current threshold is age 50), with exceptions for veterans and the homeless.
Hard-right members tore in the measure.
Rep. Dan Bishop, RN.C., said the conservative policy statements were actually “fictionalized suggestions for change” that are petty. “Basically what they’ve done” is a “clean” extension of the debt limit with no substantive policy additions, he argued, portraying it as a surrender to Biden’s demands.
“And so there is nothing,” said Bishop, who also objected to the agreement’s provision to extend the debt ceiling by two years until the next presidential election. “If you’re going to do a clean debt ceiling tacitly, make it short.”
If the debt limit bill passes the House on Wednesday, individual senators who oppose it, such as R-Utah’s Mike Lee, will have procedural tools they can use to delay Monday’s deadline. Schumer has encouraged members to act quickly to avoid default.
“If this bill gets to the Senate, my plan is to put it up for consideration as soon as possible,” Schumer said. “Senators must be prepared to act urgently to send a finished product to the president’s office before the June 5 deadline.”
Alexandra Bacalao, Kate Santaliz, and Julia Jester contributed.
