(USNewsmag.com) – Ahead of planned discussions between Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Biden, Republican Study Committee chairman Kevin Hern (R-OK) sent a document to members on May 2 laying out Democrats’ arguments.
The Republicans’ “Limit, Save, and Grow Act”, which intends to increase the debt limit by $1.5 trillion, has been criticized by Democrats and Biden for including a number of spending reductions that are both politicized and undesirable. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the Senate’s majority leader, stated that the Senate will convene hearings to reveal the Republicans’ right-leaning ransom letter.
Hern refuted the Democrats’ assertions. Welfare work requirements, permitting changes, and discretionary expenditure restrictions are all examples of historical bipartisan principles on which many of the measures in this bill are based.
The CBO estimates that the Act would result in savings of $4.8 trillion throughout the next ten years. There would be a $700 billion reduction in required expenditures and a $3.2 trillion reduction in spending on discretionary items, with an additional $400 billion in income generated.
A month prior to what Janet Yellen, the Treasury Secretary, anticipated that the US government might default, possibly as early as June 1, Biden asked McCarthy to meet on May 9 about extending the debt ceiling.
To enable them to vote to increase the debt limit without the backing of Republican leadership, House Democrats started the discharge petition procedure.
McCarthy made an agreement between himself and GOP holdouts during Speakership voting that would limit spending for FY2024 to 2022 levels. Democrats have claimed that cutbacks to vital sectors, such as the military, would be included in the FY2024 budget because of this commitment.
Hern said that there are no particular accounts or programs listed. Instead, Congress would have to perform its job and debate how to allocate limited discretionary funds between competing priorities. The Democrats and Biden are just attempting to deflect attention away from the reality that there is a lot of waste in their discretionary budget.
Copyright 2023, USNewsMag.com
