U.S. debt ceiling deal to face its first test in Congress
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[May 30, 2023]
By Moira Warburton and Andy Sullivan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bipartisan deal to raise the $31.4 trillion
U.S. debt ceiling faces its first test in Congress on Tuesday, setting
up what could be a nail-biting week of voting before the United States
runs out of money to pay its bills.
The House of Representatives Rules Committee is due to consider the
99-page bill at 3 p.m. (1900 GMT) on Tuesday, ahead of votes in the
Republican-controlled House of Representatives and the
Democratic-controlled Senate.
Both Democratic President Joe Biden and the top Republican in Congress,
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, have predicted they will get enough votes
to pass it into law before Monday, when the U.S. Treasury Department
says it will not have enough money to cover its obligations.
Representative Stephanie Bice, a Republican vote counter, said she was
confident it would pass.
"It is a true negotiation and reflective of divided government," she
told reporters.
But first it will have to clear the Rules Committee.
Normally a rubber stamp for House leadership, McCarthy placed three
hardline conservatives on the powerful 13-member panel as a price for
winning the speaker's gavel in January.
Two of those lawmakers have said they will vote against the bill, while
the third, Representative Thomas Massie, has said previously that he
does not want to use his perch to block legislation.
He hinted on Monday that he might support the package. "I think it's
important to keep in mind the debt limit bill itself does not spend
money," he wrote on Twitter. His office declined to comment further.
The four Democrats on the panel typically vote against Republican-backed
legislation, but it is not clear whether they would oppose a deal that
had been crafted by Biden.
At least one, Representative Mary Gay Scanlon, is a member of a moderate
group that supports the deal. Her office did not respond to a request
for comment.
McCarthy said on Monday he was not worried the Rules Committee would
kill the bill.
A successful vote there would set up a vote by the full House on
Wednesday.
A Senate vote could possibly stretch into the weekend if lawmakers in
that chamber try to slow its passage. At least one, Republican Mike Lee,
has said he may try to do so, and other Republicans have also expressed
discomfort with some aspects of the deal.
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President Joe Biden shakes hands with
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of Calif., after the State of the Union
address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol, Tuesday, Feb.
7, 2023, in Washington. Jacquelyn Martin/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
The bill would suspend the U.S. debt limit through Jan. 1, 2025,
allowing Biden and lawmakers to set aside the politically risky
issue until after the November 2024 presidential election.
It would also cap some government spending over the next two years,
speed up the permitting process for some energy projects, claw back
unused COVID-19 funds, and introduce work requirements for food aid
programs for some poor Americans.
In another win for Republicans, it would shift some funding away
from the Internal Revenue Service, though the White House says that
should not undercut tax enforcement.
Biden can point to gains as well: the deal leaves his signature
infrastructure and green-energy laws largely intact, and the
spending cuts and work requirements are far less than Republicans
had pushed for.
Republicans have argued that steep spending cuts are necessary to
curb the growth of the national debt, which at $31.4 trillion is
roughly equal to the annual output of the economy.
Interest payments on that debt are projected to eat up a growing
share of the budget in the decades to come as an aging population
pushes up health and retirement costs, according to government
forecasts.
The deal would not do anything to rein in those fast-growing
programs.
Most of the savings would come by capping spending on domestic
programs like housing, border control, scientific research and other
forms of "discretionary" spending. Military spending would be
allowed to increase over the next two years.
The debt-ceiling standoff prompted ratings agencies to warn they
might downgrade U.S. debt, which underpins the global financial
system. Markets have reacted positively to the agreement so far.
(Reporting by Moira Warburton and Andy Sullivan; Editing by Kieran
Murray and Chris Reese)
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