Schumer announces Senate hearings to ‘expose’ GOP debt limit bill starting this week

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Monday announced the Senate will hold hearings to “expose the true impact” of House Republicans’ proposal to lift the debt ceiling.

In a letter to lawmakers, Schumer called the Default on America Act (DOA), which passed the Republican-majority House last week, “hastily drafted” and a “hard-right ransom note to the American people.” The bill is dead-on-arrival in the Democrat-controlled Senate. 

“The Senate will show the public what this bill truly is. Beginning this week, our Committees will begin to hold hearings to expose the true impact of this reckless legislation on everyday Americans,” Schumer said. 

The Budget Committee will hold a hearing on the DOA on Thursday, titled “The Default on America Act: Blackmail, Brinkmanship, and Billionaire Backroom Deals.”

The Republicans’ proposal offers only two choices, Schumer argued: “Either default on the debt, or default on America, forcing steep cuts to law enforcement, veterans, families, teachers, and kids. Democrats will not allow it.”

Republicans and Democrats are locked in a tense debate over how to address the debt ceiling and the threat of a default, which could hit as soon as June if the borrowing limit isn’t raised. 

The White House has insisted on a “clean” increase — while the House Republican bill would raise the debt ceiling and cut spending.

“Speaker McCarthy has surrendered to the far-right extremist members of his caucus and the DOA is their crown jewel. In backrooms, they pulled together a slew of unpatriotic and harmful policies that would take the country backwards,” Schumer said in the letter.

“Let’s be perfectly clear: The Republican Default on America Act does nothing to actually resolve the looming debt crisis, and it has no hope of ever becoming law. If anything, the MAGA House Republicans’ actions have increased the likelihood of default.”