US debt ceiling deal ready to clear first hurdle despite stiff opposition

A bipartisan deal to raise the US debt ceiling was poised to clear its first major legislative hurdle in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, as lawmakers raced to vote in support of the agreement and avert default.

The White House and Republican Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy struck a deal over the weekend that would suspend the debt ceiling until after the next presidential election in 2024. It limits discretionary spending for two years, tightens requirements for some social programs, cuts funding for the Internal Revenue Service and speeds up permitting for large energy and infrastructure projects.

Most members of the powerful House Rules Committee were expected to advance the bill late Tuesday, setting the stage for a make-or-break vote in the full House as soon as Wednesday. Passage through the rules committee was expected to come to Republican Congressman Thomas Massey of Kentucky, who earlier Tuesday said he “anticipated (D)” voting to move the deal forward.

The agreement needs to pass both the House and Senate before next week to become law. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned that the federal government will run out of money on June 5 if the debt ceiling is not raised in time.

Both the White House and McCarthy have expressed optimism that their agreement will be approved by both chambers of Congress. But a growing number of lawmakers from both parties have come out against the deal, which could be a nail-biting vote on the House floor.

Earlier on Tuesday, hardline Republican lawmakers vowed to do “everything” in their power to block the bill from being signed into law.

Scott Perry, a right-wing congressman from Pennsylvania who chairs the House Freedom Caucus, said McCarthy had “absolutely fail(ed)” to fulfill his mandate in negotiations with the White House.

Perry and other hardliners backed McCarthy’s opening plank in the talks – the Limit, Save, Grow Act – which would have pushed the debt into the next year with huge spending cuts and the rollback of some of President Joe Biden’s biggest policies, such as student loan debt. The limit would have been increased. Forgiveness.

Standing before 10 fellow Republicans who joined in their attacks on the deal, Perry said: “These members and others will be absolutely opposed to the deal and we will do everything in our power to stop it, and end it now.” ”

Perry stopped short of calling on McCarthy to lose his job over the agreement, but his comments put pressure on the president as he sought to regain support.

Republicans control the House by a razor-thin margin. With more than a dozen party members publicly saying they will vote against the deal, McCarthy must rely on significant public support from House Democrats to get the bill over the line.

Many of McCarthy’s former critics have praised the lawmaker – who was elected speaker in January despite strong opposition from members of his own party – for his handling of the debt limit issue.

But several members of the Freedom Caucus have threatened to bring a “motion to vacate” or a motion of no confidence if McCarthy does not respond to their calls to abandon the deal.

Republican Congressman Chip Roy of Texas told talk radio host Glenn Beck on Tuesday that “we’re going to have to regroup and figure out the whole leadership system” if the debt limit becomes law.

It’s unclear how many Democrats will support the compromise deal when the House votes on it. Several progressive lawmakers have questioned whether Biden gave Republicans too much in the negotiations.

Pramila Jayapal, the Democratic House member who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said her group was counting votes before deciding to take an “official position”. Leaders of the New Democrat coalition, a more centrist group of Democratic lawmakers, issued a statement Monday encouraging their members to support the deal.

The Congressional Budget Office, a government agency analyzing the legislation’s impact for lawmakers, said late Tuesday that the deal would reduce the deficit by $1.5 trillion over the next decade compared to current estimates. While conservative opponents of the deal will find the figure too small, it could comfort mainstream and moderate Republicans who are leaning toward supporting the accord.

Additional reporting by Colby Smith