House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has promised to raise the debt ceiling in an upcoming spending bill, but only if future government spending increases are capped at 1%.
“Since the president continues to hide, House Republicans will take action,” he said during a Monday speech at the New York Stock Exchange.
McCarthy (R-CA) said his plan is for the House to vote “in the coming weeks … on a bill to lift the debt ceiling into the next year, save taxpayers trillions of dollars, make us less dependent upon China, curb our high inflation — all without touching Social Security and Medicare.”
The House leader also criticized President Biden for not engaging in negotiations to extend the nation’s debt limit.
“Let me be clear,” he emphasized. “A no-strings-attached debt limit increase will not pass.”
“Without exaggeration, American debt is a ticking time bomb that will detonate unless we take serious, responsible action,” he continued, per NBC News. “Yet how has President Biden reacted to this issue? He has done nothing.”
McCarthy said, “Debt limit negotiations are an opportunity to examine our nation’s finances.”
However, McCarthy must also cooperate with the Democrat-led Senate, as a bill would only make it to Biden if first approved by the upper chamber of Congress.
This could prove problematic as Democratic legislators and President Biden support passing a debt ceiling bill separate from a spending bill.
“President Biden and I are happy to meet with the speaker when he has something to talk about — a plan,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
“Show us your plan,” he said. “What we got today was not a plan. It was a recycled pile of the same things he’s been saying for months.”
White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said McCarthy has “failed to clearly outline what House Republicans are proposing and will vote on.”
“He referenced a vague, extreme MAGA wish list that will increase costs for hard-working families, take food assistance and health care away from millions of Americans, and yet would enlarge the deficit when combined with House Republican proposals for tax giveaways skewed to the super-rich, special interests, and profitable companies.”
Even some Republicans in Congress seem wary of McCarthy’s plan.
“I don’t know what’s in the package completely. That’s the issue,” explained Representative Scott Perry (R-PA), per the Hill.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) added, “There are a number of really critical details we’ve still got to work out before making a final decision on a vote.”
Congress must get its house in order soon, as the Treasury Department has said the debt limit must be raised by early June to avert an economic disaster.
However, legislators could have a little more time than that, as some experts have given deadlines that range from July to September.
