McCarthy Sticks to His Guns, Says Debt Cuts Will Need to Cut Money

By Brett Rowland (The Center Square)

US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said on Wednesday that the White House would have to agree to cut spending as part of the debt.

“You have to spend less than you did last year,” McCarthy said at a press conference. “It’s not hard to do, but in Washington, in a way, that’s the problem.”

McCarthy said he hoped the talks would make progress even though he said the two sides were “at a distance.”

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“I’m sending our negotiating team to the White House to try to finalize the negotiations with the White House,” McCarthy said. There are several places where we are still far away.

The debt ceiling is the amount of debt that the US Treasury Department can issue. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said it repeatedly he said Lawmakers must raise the debt by June 1 or risk a US debt default, but it is unclear when the US currency will dry up. In a letter to McCarthy on Monday, Yellen said the funds could end as early as June 1.

“With an additional week of information available, I am writing to note that we estimate that it is possible that the Treasury will no longer be able to meet all of the government’s obligations if Congress does not act to raise or suspend the debt. In early June, and possibly as early as June 1,” he said. he wrote.

He added that the situation is subject to change: “These figures are based on available data, and receipts, government grants, and loans may differ from the estimates.” I will continue to update Congress as more information becomes available. “

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House Republicans proposed a bill to cut spending by $4.8 trillion and increase the debt by $1.5 trillion, or until March 31, 2024, whichever comes first. The Republican bill would remove the energy and environmental tax from the Inflation Reduction Act and repeal Biden’s student loan ban. It could also impose work requirements on some government programs, such as requiring Medicaid recipients to work 80 hours a month.

The Limit, Save, Grow Act would roll back all of the spending from fiscal year 2022 through fiscal year 2024 with an annual growth rate of 1% for 10 years, according to the State Budget Committee. The Congressional Budget Office said the measure would reduce the budget deficit “by approximately $4.8 trillion over the 2023-2033 period.”

President Joe Biden has said that any deal must be supported by both parties.

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