Kevin McCarthy vows House will vote on one-year debt hike

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) vowed Monday that while President Biden “continues to hide, House Republicans will take action” on a plan meant to limit federal borrowing to one year and reduce government spending.

“Let me be clear: A no-strings-attached debt limit increase will not pass,” McCarthy, 58, said in a speech at the New York Stock Exchange meant to evoke former President Ronald Reagan’s visit to the trading floor nearly 40 years ago.

Monday’s remarks sought to highlight what McCarthy called President Biden’s “irresponsible” economic policy after the speaker last month accused the commander-in-chief of being “missing in action” from debt ceiling talks.

“Here’s our plan,” McCarthy said. “In the coming weeks the House will vote on a bill to lift the debt ceiling into the next year, save taxpayers trillions of dollars, make us less dependent upon China, curb our high inflation — all without touching Social Security and Medicare.”

The speaker in March suggested cutting non-defense spending back to pre-inflationary levels and introducing more work requirements for some welfare programs.

Biden rolled out a $6.9 trillion budget proposal the same month, which would have increased the national debt to $51 trillion over the next decade.

In January, the federal government exceeded its roughly $31 trillion debt limit, halting its ability to borrow funds for programs like Social Security and Medicare. Congress last approved a debt ceiling increase in December 2021.

Also in January, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the federal borrowing limit will need to be increased by June of this year to prevent a default on America’s national debt.

“Without exaggeration, American debt is a ticking time bomb that will detonate unless we take serious, responsible action,” McCarthy said Monday. “Yet how has President Biden reacted to this issue? He has done nothing.”

McCarthy said Biden’s unwillingness to negotiate as commander-in-chief differs greatly from his past openness to fiscal reform as a US senator and even while Barack Obama’s vice president.

“When he was Senator Joe Biden, he voted for spending reforms attached to debt limit increases four times: in 1985, in 1987, in 1993 and in 1997,” he noted, adding that Biden also led spending talks with House Republicans in 2011.

Both the White House and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) compared McCarthy’s push for spending cuts to “hostage-taking.”

“A speech is not a plan,” said Christie Stephenson, a spokeswoman for Jeffries’ office. “Extreme MAGA Republicans continue to treat the full faith and credit of the United States as a hostage situation while their so-called budget proposal remains in the witness protection program.”

“Speaker McCarthy is breaking with the bipartisan norm he followed under Trump by engaging in dangerous economic hostage taking that threatens hard-working Americans’ jobs and retirement savings,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates chimed in. “In 2019, Donald Trump himself said, ‘I can’t imagine anybody ever even thinking of using the debt ceiling as a negotiating wedge.’ This morning, Speaker McCarthy did just that. Meanwhile, he again failed to clearly outline what House Republicans are proposing and will vote on, even as he referenced a vague, extreme MAGA wish list that will increase costs for hard-working families, take food assistance and health care away from millions of Americans, and yet would enlarge the deficit when combined with House Republican proposals for tax giveaways skewed to the super-rich, special interests, and profitable companies.

“A speech isn’t a plan, but it did showcase House Republicans’ priorities,” added Bates, echoing the Jeffries statement. “Rather than ask the super wealthy to pay their fair share, they propose cutting services for veterans. Rather than cut spending to Big Pharma, they propose sending manufacturing jobs overseas to countries including China.”