Debt Ceiling: Dems Offer New Plan To Outmaneuver GOP Spending Cuts
Written by
Vance Cariaga
Edited by
Daria Uhlig
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Democratic lawmakers have moved to force a vote on debt-ceiling legislation that doesn’t include the massive spending cuts proposed by the Republican-led U.S. House. The move comes amid a race to pass a bill before the federal government goes into default, which could happen as early as June 1.
In a “dear colleague” letter dated May 2, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) wrote that Democrats plan to file a discharge petition. If the petition is signed by 218 House members, it would force a vote on a clean debt ceiling increase, Axios reported.
“Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen indicated that the United States Treasury may exhaust extraordinary measures as early as June 1,” Jeffries wrote in the letter. “Congress must urgently pass legislation to raise the borrowing limit and avoid plunging our nation into a recession, driving up unemployment and crashing the stock market.”
He added that a “dangerous default” is not an option — and neither is the “extreme ransom note demanded by Republicans.”
Those words are not likely to be greeted with much enthusiasm by Republicans, which could complicate things if Democrats expect to pass their legislation. Because Democrats hold only 213 seats in the House, they would need to bring aboard at least five Republicans to reach the required 218 signatures. As Bloomberg reported, McCarthy and his leadership team “are certain to put maximum pressure” on their GOP colleagues not to go along.
What’s certain is that the clock is ticking on resolving the issue. Earlier this week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned Congress that the government has less than a month to come up with a plan if it wants to avoid default, but the two sides still appear very far apart on how best to do that.
The House bill that passed last week with a narrow 217-215 margin includes $4.5 trillion in spending cuts and raises the debt limit by $1.5 trillion until May 2024. While House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) lauded the bill’s focus on fiscal responsibility, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the bill is “dead on arrival” when it reaches his Democrat-controlled chamber.
As Axios noted, Schumer recently placed both a clean debt ceiling increase and the House GOP’s bill to raise the debt ceiling and slash spending on the Senate calendar.
“This process will ensure that once a clean debt ceiling is passed the House bill is available for a bipartisan agreement on spending and revenue as part of the regular budget process,” a Schumer spokesperson told Axios.
But some Republicans don’t sound eager to embrace the Democratic plan.
“Leader Jeffries refuses to negotiate,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) told Axios. “That’s not how it works in a divided government. We have to govern, which means we have to find some agreement, which means we must negotiate.”
Meanwhile, McCarthy is expected to meet with President Joe Biden and other congressional leaders on May 9 to discuss the debt ceiling, Bloomberg reported.
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