McCarthy reiterates call for cuts as White House debt talks resume
With a possible federal bankruptcy in just over a week, Chairman Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday renewed his call for President Biden and Congressional Democrats to accept spending cuts in exchange for raising the debt limit and allowing the missing of payments by the Ministry of Finance.
“You have to spend less than you did last year,” McCarthy said at a press conference at the Capitol as the Biden administration and Republican negotiators met at the White House. “It’s not that hard to do. But in Washington that is somehow a problem.”
The government has tried to hold the line against austerity and instead push for a freeze on current spending levels, but Mr. McCarthy has made domestic program cuts a central demand in the negotiations. With Republicans pushing for cuts to defense or veterans programs, most of the cuts would affect social programs favored by Democrats.
Despite a series of regular meetings, negotiators have reported little progress on the content of an agreement. Still, Mr. McCarthy continued to express hope that a deal could be reached before the June 1 deadline.
“I think we can make progress today,” he told reporters at the Capitol. “I hope we can.”
Right-wing Republicans have vowed to oppose any compromise waiving spending cuts that were part of their debt reduction bill, which passed along party lines last month, so McCarthy will likely need a significant number of Democratic votes to pass an agreement. But congressional Democrats are resisting cuts in the overall budget.
The House begins a week-long Memorial Day recess on Friday, and Mr McCarthy will have to decide whether to detain members in Washington or send them home and then call them back if a deal can be reached. He has vowed to give lawmakers 72 hours to review any plan, meaning consideration of a deal appears to be slipping next week.
Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen has repeatedly warned that the government will not be able to meet all its obligations by June 1.