Republicans in the House of Representatives are demanding that the Biden administration agree to cut federal spending to 2022 levels.
Negotiations between the administration of Democratic US President Joe Biden and representatives in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives over the government’s debt ceiling will resume on Wednesday.
Talks between the two sides collapsed on Tuesday, with no discernible progress being made toward an agreement that would give the US Treasury permission to exceed the current $31 trillion ceiling and continue to borrow money to pay down outstanding national debt . Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned the department will run out of money on Thursday June 1, which could force the government to default, plunging the United States into a catastrophic recession and confusing world markets.
Republicans in the House of Representatives are demanding that the Biden administration agree to cut federal spending to 2022 levels. Republicans also want to introduce strict work requirements for Americans participating in low-income assistance programs such as cash and food assistance and the Medicaid health insurance program.
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The White House has proposed freezing federal spending at current levels this year and wants to end tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans and some businesses. The government has also proposed including defense spending in potential spending cuts.
Both President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have rejected competing proposals, but news outlets say a potential deal would include recovering up to $30 billion in unspent COVID relief funds and reforms to simplify the approval process for new ones could include energy projects.
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Tuesday that negotiations were “progressing,” but stressed that both Democrats and Republicans “need to understand that they’re not going to get everything they want.” She said the goal is to “create a budget that is reasonable, bipartisan, that Democrats and Republicans can vote on and agree on in the House and Senate.”
But Rep. Garrett Graves, one of the Republican House negotiators, said Tuesday there were still “significant gaps” between the two parties.
A group of conservative Republicans are calling on President McCarthy, who needed their support to be elected to office in January, not to compromise with Biden and instead force the president to give in to their demands. Biden is also under pressure from House Democrats not to give in to Republicans and simply state that the government will continue to borrow money, invoking the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which states that the “ “Validity of US government debt” is at risk United States legally entitled to do so will not be questioned.”
Negotiations are also complicated by the need to turn the agreement into law and give House lawmakers 72 hours to consider the bill before it goes to a vote. It must then go to the Democrat-controlled Senate for approval before being sent to Biden for signature.
[Parte de la información para este informe provino de The Associated Press, Reuters y Agence France-Presse]
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