House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said that Congressional Budget Office Director Phillip Swagel will brief members of the lower chamber on its budget outlook next Wednesday ahead of President Joe Biden unveiling his proposed budget on March 9.
The briefing comes as McCarthy and Biden negotiate a debt ceiling deal, with conservatives pushing for spending cuts to be included in any agreement.
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“We're going to have a meeting next week and bring the CBO, and not to be partisan because they're not, and give all of Congress the exact same numbers,” McCarthy told reporters on Wednesday. “We'll do that on the 8th, before the president releases his budget, so every member of Congress will be able to know exactly where we are. And then, anybody can bring up different ideas.”
The CBO recently projected that the country will accumulate $19 trillion in debt over the next 10 years, with interest costs totaling $10.4 trillion.
Conservatives have repeatedly stated that they do not support raising the debt ceiling without a deal to rein in spending, though pledges not to touch Medicare and Social Security, combined with defense hawks' resistance to Pentagon cuts, narrow the areas in which Washington can pare back spending.
Biden and McCarthy met last month to begin negotiations but have not met face-to-face since. The California Republican said that he anticipates talks to ramp up after Biden unveils his budget in the coming days.
“He kind of alluded to the fact he wants to get his budget out. He'll go and talk to the Democrats at their retreat, when they tell America we should raise taxes, which is wrong,” McCarthy said.
Top Democrats have repeatedly called for a clean debt-ceiling hike, arguing that Republicans repeatedly raised it during the previous administration and that risking default could be catastrophic for the nation's economy.
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“We have a clear position. Do it clean. Do it without brinkmanship. Do it without this risk of hostage-taking where things could blow up,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said last month.