By Brett Rowland (Centre Square)
U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Wednesday the White House must agree to cut spending as part of a debt deal.
“You have to spend less than last year,” McCarthy told a news conference. “It’s not that hard to do, but in Washington, one way or another, it’s a problem.”
McCarthy said he hoped negotiators would make progress, although he described the two sides as “far apart”.
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“I’m sending our negotiating team to the White House to try to complete negotiations with the White House,” McCarthy said. “There are a number of places where we are still far apart.”
The debt ceiling is the maximum amount of debt that the US Treasury Department can issue. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has repeatedly said said lawmakers must raise the debt ceiling by June 1 or risk a default on US debt bonds, but exactly when US coffers will run out remains unclear. In a letter to McCarthy on Monday, Yellen again said the money could run out as early as June 1.
“With an additional week of information now available, I am writing to note that we believe it is highly probable that the Treasury will no longer be able to meet all government obligations unless Congress has acted to raise or suspend the debt limit by early June, and potentially as early as June 1,” she said. writing.
She noted that things could change: “These estimates are based on currently available data, and federal revenue, spending and debt could differ from these estimates. I will continue to update Congress as more information becomes available.
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House Republicans passed a bill to cut spending by $4.8 trillion and raise the debt ceiling by about $1.5 trillion, or until March 31, 2024, according to the first possibility. The Republican bill would remove energy and environmental tax credits from the Cut Inflation Act and formally block Biden’s student loan forgiveness. It would also put in place work requirements for some federal social programs, such as requiring Medicaid recipients to work 80 hours a month.
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The Limit, Save, Grow Act would return total discretionary spending to fiscal 2022 levels in fiscal 2024 and cap annual growth at 1% for 10 years, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the measure would reduce budget deficits “by approximately $4.8 trillion over the period 2023-2033.”
President Joe Biden has said any deal must have the support of both parties.
Syndicated with permission by RealClearWire.