House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is facing pressure from his right flank to not compromise in the debt limit negotiations with President Biden.
During a closed-door GOP conference Tuesday, conservatives from the House Freedom Caucus implored Mr. McCarthy to “hold the line” in preference to the debt limit legislation passed by House Republicans last month.
Rep. Chip Roy, according to a source within the room, argued that Republicans were not winning in the current negotiations as the country faces $31.8 trillion in debt.
This “shouldn’t be about a deal; it should be about saving the country,” said Mr. Roy, Texas Republican.
Other GOP lawmakers echoed the sentiment. Freedom Caucus opposition could prove deadly for any deal that Mr. McCarthy strikes in the end. The more than 40-member group nearly tanked Mr. McCarthy’s speakership bid this year, given the narrow four-seat House GOP majority.
Mr. McCarthy, for his part, told the conference that both sides were still far apart in the negotiations.
GOP negotiators say a large roadblock is the White House’s unwillingness to cut spending immediately. Republicans are pushing for at least $130 billion in cuts in the upcoming budget. At least half could come from rescinding unspent pandemic aid.
“The president’s budget wants to spend more money than we spent at the height of COVID,” said Mr. McCarthy, California Republican. “We shouldn’t do that.”
The White House proposes keeping domestic and defense spending flat for the upcoming fiscal year. They argue that would amount to a spending cut because of inflation. Negotiators are floating the prospect of a compromise that adjusts last year’s government spending levels for inflation and capping spending growth at 1% for the next two years.
“We have to be in a position where we can sell it to our constituency,” said Mr. Biden. “We have a pretty well-divided House, almost down the middle, and it’s not any different in the Senate.”
House Republicans are pushing for immediate cuts in the upcoming budget and at least 10 years of spending caps. They have specified the spending cuts will have to come from domestic spending.
Republican lawmakers also want to boost funding for defense, border security and veterans benefits. Mr. Biden proposes raising taxes on the wealthy by closing tax loopholes rather than slashing spending on domestic programs.
“We’ve agreed we need to reduce the deficit … and we need to cut spending,” Mr. Biden said. “I think we should be looking at tax loopholes and making sure the wealthy pay their fair share. I think revenue matters as long as you’re not taxing anybody [making] under $400,000.”
Republicans say tax hikes are a nonstarter, especially given inflation and other economic uncertainties.
Outside of spending cuts are divisions over expanding welfare work requirements.
House Republicans want to impose requirements that able-bodied and childless recipients of Medicaid, food stamps and cash assistance work at least 20 hours per week. They are also proposing restrictions on the ability of states and the federal government to waive work requirements for food stamps.
Although Mr. Biden has opened the door to expanding work requirements on recipients of direct cash payments through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, the savings would be minuscule. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that expanded work requirements on TANF recipients would save only $6 million through 2033.
Even that is too much for some Democrats.
The nearly 50-member Congressional Black Caucus is threatening to vote against any work requirements on welfare.
• Haris Alic can be reached at halic@washingtontimes.com.
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