Negotiations over the debt ceiling have been prolonged as "red lines" from both sides have slowed progress on President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) reaching an agreement.
The White House is reportedly not budging on a few key items in debt ceiling negotiations as McCarthy and Biden look to get a resolution to the impasse completed before the United States defaults on its loans.
MAKE OR BREAK: THIS WEEK INTO NEXT IS CRITICAL WINDOW FOR DEBT CEILING NEGOTIATIONS
Fully clawing back COVID-19 spending
One of the key provisions in the GOP's bill to raise the debt ceiling was clawing back funds allocated for the coronavirus pandemic. The plan is something that Biden seems eager to support, but not in its entirety.
Biden said clawing back some COVID relief funds is on the table following a meeting with congressional leaders earlier this month.
"The answer is, I’d take a hard look at it because there’s still — we don’t need it all, but the question is what obligations were there made — commitments made, the money not dispersed, etc. I have to take a hard look at it. It’s on the table," Biden said.
The Biden administration, however, does not want to claw back all of the allocated spending despite the public health emergency ending earlier this month. The New York Times reported that the White House is looking to preserve $5 billion in funding for a program to develop coronavirus vaccines and treatments, along with $1 billion to fund COVID-19 vaccines for uninsured citizens.
The rescinding of unspent COVID-19 funds in the Limit, Save, Grow Act would save $30 billion over 10 years, according to a Congressional Budget Office estimate.
Work requirements
Biden has said he is willing to consider Republican demand to implement work requirements for various federal entitlement programs but that healthcare-related requirements are not on the table.
“I voted for tougher aid programs. That’s in the law now, but for Medicaid, it's a different story. And so, I’m waiting to hear what their exact proposal is,” Biden told reporters last week.
The GOP proposal in the Limit, Save, Grow Act calls for work requirements to be added to Medicaid, SNAP, and TANF. Medicaid is off the table based on Biden's remarks, although SNAP and TANF could still be part of the talks as the GOP continues to push for increased work requirements.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated in April that the provision to add work requirements would save $120 billion over 10 years.
Rollback of Biden's student loan plan
Completely off the table for Biden is the GOP's proposal to block his student loan cancellation plan and expand income-driven repayment plans for student loans.
The constitutionality of Biden's student loan plan is set to be ruled on by the Supreme Court as soon as Thursday after the high court held arguments in the case earlier this year.
The House GOP is set to vote on a separate resolution to repeal Biden's plan under the Congressional Review Act. If the resolution were to pass both chambers of Congress, it would almost certainly set up a Biden veto.
The rollback of Biden's student loan plan in the Limit, Save, Grow Act was estimated to save $460 billion over the next 10 years, according to the CBO.
Inflation Reduction Act rollback
Republican's proposed rollback of climate provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act has also been marked as one of the White House's "red lines" since talks between McCarthy and Biden began in earnest earlier this month.
The Inflation Reduction Act has been one of Biden's signature pieces of legislation, which he likes to point to when discussing his administration's accomplishments. This makes any sort of repeal unlikely to be authorized by the president.
The provision to rescind energy tax credits and spending in the Limit, Save, Grow Act was projected to save $540 billion, according to the CBO.
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Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reiterated earlier this week to congressional leaders that she expects the U.S. to default on its debt obligations as soon as June 1 if the debt ceiling is not raised.
The next week is widely seen as a make-or-break window for negotiations as both sides continue to debate their positions.