DEBT LIMIT ON THE DANCE FLOOR — Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s debt limit bill hits the floor this week, a major test of the California Republican’s leadership of his complex conference and a launchpad for more substantive discussions with the White House.
McCarthy was confident on Sunday. “We will hold a vote this week and we will pass it,” he told Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures.
But he can only lose four Republicans. Most House Republicans are on board, but the magic number is 218 and they’re not there yet. Conversations continued over the weekend to try and bring stragglers into the “yes” camp.
Agitating for changes: Some members were already agitating for changes last week, including a higher bar for work requirements for Medicaid and food assistance programs and a sooner start date. As written, the measure would require Medicaid recipients to work 80 hours per month, or 20 hours per week.
“Work Requirements in the House debt limit bill must begin in 2024, not 2025 (as is currently drafted). The reason we demanded 72 hours to review legislation is so we could identify and fix issues with specifics precisely like this. Let’s Get to Work!” tweeted Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) over the weekend.
Gaetz was in a meeting Thursday with McCarthy’s leadership team, Budget Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas), Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.) and leaders of different factions of the conference, discussing both work requirements and the general temperature across the conference.
The elimination of certain tax credits, from ethanol to biofuels, is also stressing out some members, but confidence that those wouldn’t survive any White House deal has dialed down the concerns.
D.E.A.R.: Before the House hit the road for the weekend, plenty of Republicans said they needed to read through the proposal, take a closer look and make up their mind. Hope they found some time to drop everything and read and report back to leadership on where they stand.
“I cannot imagine someone in our conference that would want to go along with Biden’s reckless spending,” McCarthy said Sunday.
The House Rules Committee takes up the bill tomorrow afternoon. Once House Republican leaders have the votes, they’ll bring it for a vote. If McCarthy needs more time, the House is scheduled to be in on Friday.
Tenuous timeline: The Treasury Department has already been using “extraordinary measures” for months to hold off a default while an unclear “X-date” looms. But there could be more clarity soon. The Congressional Budget office and the Bipartisan Policy Center are planning to release updated projections the second week of May.
A reminder of what’s in the package:
- Rescinding unspent pandemic relief funds
- Cap spending to fiscal 2022 levels
- Roll back energy tax credits from Inflation Reduction Act