Republicans in the House are putting even more pressure on Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to hold the line on the negotiations on the debt ceiling with President Biden urging him to cut reckless spending.
35 Republican lawmakers have asked Speaker McCarthy to include the newly passed border security bill in the negotiations to end the siege on our border, asked to end any spending on a new FBI headquarters, and pressured the Speaker to not compromise when it comes to any off the items on the GOP debt bill passed last month.
“First, President Biden delayed engagement with Congress for months on the debt ceiling and, now that he is engaging, press reports indicate he is pushing to water down the provisions of the House-passed Limit, Save, Grow Act while simultaneously demanding a debt ceiling increase of $4 trillion or more (well beyond the $1.5 trillion provided in the House bill),” they Congressmen wrote.
“In response to the President’s preposterous position, we encourage you to add additional provisions to the Limit, Save, Grow Act such as the inclusion of the recently passed Secure the Border Act and the end to funding for the FBI’s massive (larger than the Pentagon) new headquarters.”
Many lawmakers are requesting the Speaker pass a one-month extension on the debt limit debate so that McCarthy can truly include all of these priority items in the upcoming budget and debt ceiling increase.
The proposed House Republican Limit, Save, Grow Act would allow the United States to increase its borrowing limit by an additional $1.5 trillion which would approximately last until March 2024.
The house bill would also cut non-defense discretionary spending by $130 billion and would impose a limit on annual federal budget increases to only 1%. Republicans are asking that Biden return to pre-Covid spending levels and would also reclaim the $100 billion in COVID relief funds that was never used.
As of Thursday afternoon, negotiations between the President and McCarthy are ongoing but Congress has left for the Memorial Day holiday and President Biden will be leaving for Camp David.