Speaker McCarthy urges Biden to negotiate on debt ceiling, White House responds

by sam

Samuel Case, FISM News

The White House responded to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s letter that accused President Joe Biden of putting the economy in “jeopardy” for not working with Republicans to come up with a deal to raise the debt ceiling.

“It’s time for Republicans to stop playing games, pass a clean debt ceiling bill, and quit threatening our economic recovery,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement on Tuesday. 

She accused McCarthy and House Republicans of threatening to cut “law enforcement and border security,” and of wanting to “take health care away from Americans and raise health care and child care costs. All to pay for their tax giveaway to the super-wealthy and corporations.”

Earlier on Tuesday, McCarthy sent a letter urging Biden to return to the negotiating table, warning that time is running out to come to a deal.

“Nearly two months ago, you and I sat down to discuss a path forward on the debt limit. Since that time, however, you and your team have been completely missing in action on any meaningful follow-up to this rapidly approaching deadline,” McCarthy wrote. 

He continued, “With each passing day, I am incredibly concerned that you are putting an already fragile economy in jeopardy by insisting upon your extreme position of refusing to negotiate any meaningful changes to out-of-control government spending.”

McCarthy suggested reducing “excessive” non-defense spending and reclaiming unspent COVID funds as possible ways to save the American taxpayer money.  

According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) the United States has until July to raise the debt limit.

“We project that, if the debt limit remains unchanged, the government’s ability to borrow using extraordinary measures will be exhausted between July and September 2023,” the CBO said in a February report. 

McCarthy requested the Biden team set a date for their next meeting by the end of the week, telling the president that he’s “on the clock.”

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