McCarthy mocks ‘missing in action’ Dems on debt ceiling in floor speech: ‘Maple syrup month’
Fox News
Speaker Kevin McCarthy blasted President Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday in the House on Wednesday for failing to get anything done on the debt ceiling as he announced the House Republicans’ plan for addressing it.
“While President Biden and Senate Democrats waste time, House Republicans are taking action,” McCarthy said on the House floor as he accused top Democrats of being “missing in action” on the issue.
“America has a $31 trillion debt. Washington is on the clock. But what are Democrats doing? President Biden is skipping town to deliver a speech in Maryland rather than sitting down to address the debt ceiling,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy has been asking for a White House meeting for months to discuss a spending cut/debt limit deal, but Biden has refused to consider discussing the issues together and says the debt limit should be raised without any preconditions.
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Republicans announced their own plan on Wednesday, the Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023. McCarthy claimed it would “provide more than $4.5 trillion in savings to the American taxpayer.”
In contrast, he accused Biden of “giving America’s debt the southern border treatment – ignore it and hope that it goes away.” And he accused Senate Democrats of playing along.
“Senator Schumer, he’s just missing in action. Rather than find common ground with the House, Senator Schumer’s having the Senate vote on a nonbinding resolution commending and congratulating the University of Connecticut men’s basketball team for winning the 2023 Men’s Basketball Championship,” McCarthy said. “That’s not all Senator Schumer has been doing. Just last month, he’s approved March as Maine’s maple syrup month. Talk about taking on big issues. I wonder what May’s month will be about.”
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McCarthy said his bill would lift the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion or through March 2024, whichever benchmark is hit first.
In addition to that, the legislation would raise work requirements for federal benefits, claw back billions of dollars in unused COVID-19 pandemic funds, and repeal Biden’s student loan forgiveness program and the $80 billion he allocated toward the IRS in the Inflation Reduction Act.
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Along with capping nondiscretionary spending at fiscal year 2022 levels, it limits growth on new spending for 10 subsequent years to just 1% annually.
The bill is expected to come for a vote on the House floor sometime next week, but it almost certainly doomed in the Senate, where Schumer has so far insisted on entertaining only a “clean” debt ceiling increase.
“Now that we’ve introduced a clear plan for responsible debt limit increase, they have no more excuse and refuse to negotiate,” McCarthy said on Wednesday.