House Republicans on Wednesday passed a bill to raise the borrowing limit and implement sweeping spending cuts, marking a victory for Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) after days of grueling negotiations that put the deep divisions within the GOP conference on full display.
The bill — dubbed the Limit, Save, Grow Act — cleared the chamber 217-215. Republican Reps. Ken Buck (Colo.), Matt Gaetz (Fla.), Andy Biggs (Ariz.) and Tim Burchett (Tenn.) voted with every Democrat in opposition.
The vote came hours after Republican leaders made a handful of last-minute, late-night tweaks to the legislation to lock down support from several GOP lawmakers whose opposition had threatened to sink the bill in the narrow majority.
“It takes a lot of work when you have that slimmer majority,” Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), chair of the Republican Study Committee, told The Hill on Wednesday. “You have to manage the questions, you have to manage the expectations of members that may have a concern, how that’s gonna impact them back home or what they have an issue with personally.”
The bill faces no chance of moving in the Democratic-controlled Senate, where Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday called it “an extremist hard-right agenda.”
House Republicans, however, see the measure as their opening offer in negotiations with President Biden to raise the nation’s borrowing limit.
The White House — which slammed the GOP proposal — has been adamant that it wants a “clean” debt limit increase, foreshadowing the challenge that awaits both sides in striking a deal to prevent a default.
“It’s long past time that President Biden gets off the sidelines and does his job, and gets to the negotiating table with Speaker McCarthy so we can solve this problem and put America on a stronger financial footing that will benefit all Americans,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said on the floor Wednesday.
The bill would raise the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion or through the end of next March, whichever happens first, in exchange for a wide range of Republican proposals to decrease government spending that, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), amount to $4.8 trillion.
The bill would cap federal funding hashed as part of the annual appropriations process at fiscal year 2022 levels, while also limiting spending growth to one percent every year over the next decade.
Other pitches tucked into the plan would put an end to popular Biden administration student loans actions, beef up work requirements for programs like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and claw back already-approved coronavirus funds that have gone unspent.
The bill appeared to be on shaky ground as recently as Tuesday night, with several members either vowing to vote no or saying they were leaning that way.
Midwestern Republicans — including all four Iowa lawmakers — wanted to remove parts of the bill that would eliminate tax breaks for ethanol; conservatives were pushing for stronger work requirements; and moderate Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) said she was concerned about the bill eliminating green tax credits and not doing enough to decrease the deficit.
McCarthy on Tuesday said he would not change the bill despite his colleagues’ concerns.
But it crossed the finish line after the Speaker and GOP leaders caved to Republican holdouts and changed portions overnight to shore up support amid mounting intra-party opposition.
Top Republicans agreed to implement work requirements for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in fiscal 2024 rather than fiscal 2025, and got rid of provisions that would have nixed tax credits for biofuels.
DEVELOPING.