House Republicans delivered a key victory for Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Wednesday by narrowly approving the party’s debt limit proposal.
The passage caps off grueling negotiations that put the deep divisions within the GOP conference on full display, foreshadowing the challenge that awaits both sides in striking a deal to prevent a default.
“It takes a lot of work when you have that slimmer majority,” Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), chair of the Republican Study Committee, told The Hill on Wednesday. “You have to manage the questions, you have to manage the expectations of members that may have a concern, how that’s gonna impact them back home or what they have an issue with personally.”
Republicans passed the Limit, Save, Grow Act in a 217-215 vote on Wednesday afternoon, with GOP Reps. Ken Buck (Colo.), Matt Gaetz (Fla.), Andy Biggs (Ariz.) and Tim Burchett (Tenn.) voting with every Democrat in opposition.
The bill would raise the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion or through the end of next March, whichever happens first, in exchange for a wide range of Republican proposals to decrease government spending that, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), would put $4.8 trillion toward deficit reduction over the next 10 years.
The bill would cap federal funding hashed out as part of the annual appropriations process at fiscal year 2022 levels, while also limiting spending growth to 1 percent every year over the next decade.
Republicans are hopeful the bill’s passage will put pressure on Democrats to come to the bargaining table to hammer out a bipartisan compromise to raise the debt ceiling with fiscal reforms.
“It’s long past time that President Biden gets off the sidelines and does his job, and gets to the negotiating table with Speaker McCarthy so we can solve this problem and put America on a stronger financial footing that will benefit all Americans,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said on the floor Wednesday.
The Hill’s Aris Folley has more here.
