- The Washington Times - Thursday, April 20, 2023

Sen. Joe Manchin III broke with fellow Democrats on Thursday by slamming President Biden for refusing to negotiate with House Republicans on raising the debt limit.

Mr. Manchin, West Virginia Democrat, said the White House is engaging in “political games” by refusing to discuss spending cuts in exchange for raising the cap on how much the federal government can borrow to meet expenses.

“It has been more than 78 days since President Biden last met with Speaker McCarthy. This signals a deficiency of leadership, and it must change,” said Mr. Manchin. “For the sake of the country, I urge President Biden to come to the table, propose a plan for real and substantive spending cuts and deficit reduction, and negotiate now.” 

Mr. Biden has refused to negotiate with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy over raising the debt limit. The White House has said it’s not fair for the House GOP to take the government’s finances hostage because both parties contributed to the nation’s $31 trillion debt.

Mr. Manchin said that stance “may score political points with the extremes of the Democratic Party,” but would only hurt the American public.

The comments are a break from fellow Senate Democrats, including Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York. Mr. Schumer has lambasted the House GOP’s debt limit proposal, which would raise the borrowing cap by $1.5 trillion and slash $4.5 trillion in spending.

“This MAGA wish list has no chance of moving forward in the Senate, and it doesn’t move us any closer than we were yesterday to avoiding default,” said Mr. Schumer. “If Republicans truly wish to sell their extreme agenda to the American people, they should not do so in the middle of discussions to avoid default.”

Mr. Manchin saw the issue differently. He praised Mr. McCarthy for putting forward a plan to raise the debt limit.

“I applaud Speaker McCarthy for putting forward a proposal that would prevent default and rein in federal spending,” said Mr. Manchin. “While I do not agree with everything proposed, the fact of the matter is that it is the only bill actually moving through Congress that would prevent default.”

The House GOP’s legislation would raise the debt limit until May 31, 2024. The bill cuts federal spending by $130 billion for the upcoming fiscal year and limits future budget growth to 1% annually over the next decade.

It rescinds Mr. Biden’s student loan forgiveness program and $90.5 billion unspent COVID-19 relief.

The legislation would also repeal major portions of Mr. Biden’s $739 billion climate change law, including $70 billion in IRS funding and more than $369 billion in green-energy tax credits. 

“President Biden’s reckless spending created record inflation, made us more dependent on China, and undermined Social Security and Medicare,” said Mr. McCarthy.

Beyond cutting spending and restructuring the social safety net, the legislation imposes work requirements for individuals receiving federal entitlements programs, including food stamps and Medicaid. It would also increase the age limit for work requirements from 49 to 55.

Loading up the bill is an overhaul of the nation’s energy-permitting laws and provisions requiring congressional approval for any new regulations with an economic impact of more than $100 million per year.

The debt limit bill’s energy provisions are based on a permitting overhaul proposal Mr. Manchin sought to pass last year, but was stymied by conservative Republicans in the Senate and progressive Democrats within the House.  

• Haris Alic can be reached at halic@washingtontimes.com.

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