Heritage Action opposes debt deal bill, makes it a ‘key vote’

Heritage Action, the advocacy arm of the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank, is taking an official position against the debt limit compromise bill.

The group will send a “key vote” notice against the bill Wednesday, The Hill has learned.

Members’ votes will count on Heritage Action’s legislative scorecard, a metric of conservatism that holds weight with many Republican members of Congress, campaign donors and voters.

Heritage Action’s opposition marks a blow to House GOP leadership’s efforts to whip Republican support in favor of the bill, dubbed the Fiscal Responsibility Act, as members ranging from hard-line conservative members of the House Freedom Caucus and beyond announce they will not vote in favor of the bill. A floor vote on the legislation is expected Wednesday.

A draft notice for the key vote alert says that the bill “falls short of the demands that have been outlined by Heritage Action since January: cap and cut overall spending to FY 22 levels, include pro-growth policies that fully offset a transparent dollar amount increase in the debt ceiling, and adequately address the trajectory of federal spending.”

“We commend the victories achieved through honest negotiations by Speaker [Kevin] McCarthy [R-Calif.] with the White House, such as environmental permitting reform that will help unlock pent up construction demand and commonsense work requirements for the SNAP and TANF programs,” the notice said, referring to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

“We also acknowledge the breaking of a long-held Democrat demand for dollar-for-dollar parity with defense and non-defense spending. Unfortunately, these victories are smaller and less impactful than all that is needed to grow the economy and right-size the fiscal house of this nation.”

“This deal does not meet the moment, and it does not address the root problems that have led to nearly $32 trillion in national debt,” the notice said.

McCarthy has said that he expects more than half of the House GOP conference to support the bill. Any less than that would put him in a politically perilous position.

The organization’s position on key legislation has proved influential with Republican members of Congress in the past. Last year, Heritage Action’s opposition to a $40 billion aid package for Ukraine helped push Republican opposition to 57 votes against the bill.

Heritage Action joins FreedomWorks, another conservative advocacy group, in calling a “key vote” against the bill.

“With the national debt nearing $32 trillion, this legislation will continue to fuel out of control government spending and propel us faster toward the $50 trillion of debt our nation is expected to reach by 2030,” Adam Brandon, president of FreedomWorks, said in a statement. “The Fiscal Responsibility Act would increase the debt ceiling by $4 trillion and does little to rein in wasteful spending.”

The Heritage Action key vote notice follows Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts’s criticism of the proposal Monday.

“House Republicans must go back to the negotiating table and demand more concessions from the Biden administration,” Roberts said in a statement.