The United States Senate Committee on the Budget is holding a hearing Thursday on the Republican debt limit bill passed in the House.
Witnesses set to testify include Mark Zandi, Chief Economist at Moody’s Analytics; Fred Krupp, President of Environmental Defense Fund; Abigail Ross Hopper, President and CEO of Solar Energy Industries Associations; Brian Riedl, Senior Fellow at Manhattan Institute; and Jason J. Fichtner, Vice President and Chief Economist at Bipartisan Policy Center.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced earlier in the week that 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, which passed the Republican-majority House last week, “hastily drafted” and a “hard-right ransom note to the American people.” The bill is considered dead-on-arrival at the Democrat-controlled Senate.
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 come to pass as soon as June.
The event is scheduled for 10 a.m. ET.