Biden Administration Says President Will Veto McCarthy’s Debt Limit Proposal

The White House has made it clear that President Joe Biden will veto House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s debt limit proposal if it advances through both chambers of Congress. In a policy statement released on Tuesday, the administration expressed strong opposition to the Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023, calling it a “reckless attempt to extract extreme concessions.” The statement went on to say that the bill stands in stark contrast to the President’s vision for the economy, which invests in America, lowers costs for families, grows the economy, and reduces the deficit by nearly $3 trillion by asking the wealthy and large corporations to pay their fair share.

The announcement from the Biden administration comes amid the President announcing his bid for reelection in 2024, after which McCarthy condemned Biden for promoting his campaign rather than discussing the nation’s debt. House Republicans released their long-awaited proposal last week to avert a debt ceiling crisis. The 320-page “Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023” would lift the U.S. debt limit by $1.5 trillion or until March 31, 2024, whichever comes first. As a trade-off, Republicans want a variety of spending cuts and commitments to foster economic growth.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy delivered remarks on the House floor, explaining that the legislation seeks to “responsibly raise the debt limit into next year and provide more than $4.5 trillion in savings to American taxpayers.” To reach that goal, the proposal would limit government spending, return discretionary spending to the pre-inflationary fiscal year 2022 levels, and then limit spending growth to 1% per year.

President Biden has refused to meet with the House Speaker to negotiate the debt limit until GOP lawmakers release a 10-year budget proposal. Despite this, McCarthy said the House would hold a vote this coming week. “We will pass it, and we will send it to the Senate,” he said. Though the upper chamber is narrowly controlled by Democrats, McCarthy suggested that House Republicans would have momentum by passing a bill. “It gets us on the right path. And this gets us to the negotiating table, just as government and America expects us to do so.”