House Republicans will not drop work requirements for welfare programs as part of a debt ceiling deal, keeping negotiators in a standoff with the White House just six days ahead of a looming default deadline.
Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA), one of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) top negotiators in the debt limit talks, said the two sides have made good progress over the last few days but still remain far apart on key issues. It remains unclear how close the White House and Republicans are to finalizing a deal, but officials maintain it’s still possible an agreement will be made before the June 1 deadline.
WHITE HOUSE NOT BUDGING ON WORK REQUIREMENTS, CAUSING AN IMPASSE IN NEGOTIATIONS
Among the sticking points are permitting reforms and work requirements for welfare programs, the latter of which McCarthy has indicated is a red line. Graves said the White House remains unwilling to budge on that topic.
“Hell no, hell no,” Graves said when asked if Republicans would be willing to drop work requirements as part of a final deal. “Not a chance. Not happening.”
The disagreement over work requirements has been at the center of negotiations since they began earlier this month as Republicans push for provisions that would apply only to able-bodied adults with no dependents. However, the topic has been a nonstarter in any compromise with the White House.
“What the bottom line is, it comes down to whether or not we're going to default on the American debt. We're going to default on seniors for Social Security and Medicare,” Graves said. “Half the Democrats continue to say that we're going to prioritize welfare payments for people that are refusing to work over covering Social Security payments. And the fact that we're even discussing this is crazy.”
Negotiators are also not seeing eye to eye on a top-line spending figure, as well as permitting reform.
Despite the disagreements, Graves emphasized he was not overly concerned about the way talks are going, noting progress has been made.
“But I want to be clear, we continue to have major issues that we have not bridged the gap on,” he said. “Democrats right now are willing to default on the debt so they can continue making welfare payments for people who are refusing to work … I mean, if you're really going to fall on the sword for that versus actually negotiating something that changes the trajectory of the country for spending, I mean it’s crazy to me that we're even having this debate.”
The time crunch comes as the House broke for recess on Thursday afternoon for the holiday weekend, with some Democrats grumbling that lawmakers should stay in Washington. McCarthy said he would remain in Washington until a deal is made, as did Graves and Patrick McHenry (R-NC).
There are currently no plans to meet with White House negotiators in person on Friday, but it remains unclear whether that plan will change or if they’ll meet sometime over the weekend.
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Negotiators are hoping to finalize a deal by the end of Friday or Saturday at the latest, after which lawmakers will take one or two days to write the legislation. After that, the bill must be available for review for at least 72 hours before being considered for a vote, according to House rules.
That means the earliest a vote could take place in the House is Wednesday, just one day before the default deadline. After that, the legislation will be passed to the Senate, where it could take a few days before it’s passed and sent to Biden’s desk for his signature.