The debt limit bill announced by Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Wednesday includes a long list of proposals, including:
- budget caps
- work requirements for programs like Medicaid and food stamps
-
an end to popular Biden administration actions on student loans
- measures to roll back parts of Democrats’ signature economic bill
At the very end of the bill, Republicans outline a plan to raise the debt limit by $1.5 trillion or through the end of March 2024, whichever comes first.
The proposals face long odds of getting past the Democratic-led Senate, but they serve as a legislative marker for where Republicans stand as they try to push President Biden to the negotiating table.
Democrats are already assailing the proposal.
“This reckless bill does not give that assurance. It either puts defense or Veterans funding on the chopping block or cuts other critical government programs by more than 22 percent—a cut far lower than the 2022 level,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) said in a statement. “As hard as they might try, Republicans cannot have it both ways.”
“This proposal is not about fiscal responsibility or protecting the full faith and credit of the United States — it’s a legislative Frankenstein of dangerous MAGA demands meant to help the Speaker placate his most extreme members,” House Budget Committee Ranking Member Brendan Boyle (R-Pa.) said.
Republicans are expected to tee up a vote on the measure later next week in what is likely to be one of the party’s greatest tests of unity in the current Congress.
In the hours since its release, House Republicans have praised the measure, but some have also held their opinions as they pore through the legislation. Still, there is optimism in the conference it will fetch the necessary support for passage next week.
Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), chair of the Main Street Caucus, told The Hill on Wednesday that he has “every confidence Kevin McCarthy is gonna get 218 votes by next week.”
We have a rundown of what’s in the bill at TheHill.com.
