House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy pledges to pass legislation to raise the US debt ceiling but tied to spending cuts. The White House accused Speaker McCarthy of “economic hostage-taking” over GOP conditions on allowing raising the debt ceiling as the deadline nears to raise the debt limit.
WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 13: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) holds his weekly news conference at the U.S. Capitol June 13, 2019 in Washington, DC. In the wake of remarks by President Donald Trump that he would accept compromising information about a political opponent from a foreign power, McCarthy said that he would support legislation proposed by Democrats that would require people to report to the FBI if they are approached with offers of that information. (PHOTO: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
House Speaker McCarthy’s Demands on Raising Debt Ceiling
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy proclaimed on Monday that only on condition of capping future federal spending increases at 1% can pass the legislation to raise the nation’s debt ceiling, AP News reports.
Speaking at the New York Stock Exchange as the Washington Post reported, the Republican Leader said that even though he labored to sell Wall Street on the risky fiscal crisis with the White House, Republicans would not let the government defaults on its debts. The idea could unleash extensive economic disorder, McCarthy adds.
House Republicans will vote in the coming weeks on legislation to raise the debt ceiling but for only one year and tied to spending cuts. McCarthy leads GOP aims to slash federal spending, cap agencies’ future budgets, retrieve unspent coronavirus aid, undo Biden’s student loan cancellation plan, and adopt many other policies. This includes new rules for Medicaid that compel recipients to work longer hours in exchange for health insurance. McCarthy says the “no strings attached” debt limit will not pass.
READ ALSO: Debt-Ceiling And Its Potential Effects On Social Security And Medicare
‘Economic Hostage-Taking’, The White House Accused Speaker McCarthy
As the need to raise U.S. debt limits to prevent heading toward a potential fiscal crisis, Speaker McCarthy’s Wall Street address came with criticizing President Joe Biden for being irresponsible for refusing to participate in budget-cutting negotiations to prevent a debt crisis. The speaker said the nation’s debt, now $31 trillion, is a “ticking bomb” and Biden has done nothing.
The White House hit back, accusing the Republican Leader of “dangerous economic hostage-taking” by attaching conditions to any extension of the country’s debt ceiling. Press Secretary Andrew Bates, in an ABC News report, described the GOP conditions to raise the debt limit as ” a MAGA Republicans’ wish list”; affecting working families relying on to lower costs and make ends meet.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer likewise slammed the Republican Leader, saying the nation is heading to default if Speaker McCarthy continues in his direction. While the administration asserts the speaker failed to deliver a plan, Majority Leader claimed that he and President Biden are willing to meet with the speaker when he has something to talk about – the plan.
READ ALSO: Social Security Cuts: Do Republicans Want To Cut It?
