House Freedom Caucus Says Debt Ceiling Deal 'Fails,' Calls For All Republicans To Oppose

House Freedom Caucus Says Debt Ceiling Deal 'Fails,' Calls for All Republicans to Oppose

House Freedom Caucus members on Tuesday urged their fellow Republicans to oppose a tentative deal between US President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to raise the United States' debt ceiling, calling the agreement a failure

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th May, 2023) House Freedom Caucus members on Tuesday urged their fellow Republicans to oppose a tentative deal between US President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to raise the United States' debt ceiling, calling the agreement a failure.

"This deal fails, fails completely," Freedom Caucus Chair Scott Perry said during a press conference. "That's why these members and others will be absolutely opposed to the deal, and we will do everything in our power to stop it and end it now."

Biden and McCarthy struck a tentative deal over the weekend to raise the US debt ceiling. Biden characterized the plan as a "compromise," in which neither side gets everything they want. The deal came following days of negotiations between the two leaders' teams.

The Republican conference has been "torn asunder" by the Biden-McCarthy plan, Representative Chip Roy said. The Freedom Caucus is attempting to reunite the party in opposition to the plan, he said, adding that all Republican members of Congress should vote against the bill.

The lawmakers criticized the Biden-McCarthy plan for removing many of the spending cuts and reforms included in the House-passed Limit, Save, Grow Act. The plan would provide Biden a "blank check" instead of reducing spending, Representative Lauren Boebert said.

The plan also weakens work requirements for Federal aid, reduces permitting reform, upholds Biden's student loan bailout, keeps the majority of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) expansion, and fails to reclaim large portions of unspent COVID recovery funding, the lawmakers said.

The US debt would increase by approximately $4 trillion under the Biden-McCarthy plan, compared to approximately $1.5 trillion under the House-passed bill, the lawmakers said.

The proposal faces its first hurdle later on Tuesday in the House Rules Committee, where lawmakers will vote on the rule for debate on the bill. The panel, which is split between nine Republicans and four Democrats, could block the bill if all Democrats and three Republicans vote to oppose it.

Last week, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the US could default on its financial obligations as soon as June 5 if leaders fail to reach a deal to raise the debt ceiling.

Perry said Yellen comes to the discussion with "zero credibility" as Republicans are skeptical of her economic figures.