�WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st May, 2023) The US House Rules Committee began consideration on Tuesday of a tentative deal negotiated by US President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to raise the United States' debt ceiling in exchange for limited spending cuts and financial reforms.
On Wednesday, lawmakers will resume consideration of the proposal, dubbed the Fiscal Responsibility Act, amid opposition by some Republican members of Congress, who have pitched alternatives or entirely opposed the Biden-McCarthy deal.
The Biden-McCarthy deal emerged following days of negotiations between the leaders' teams, as well as several face-to-face meetings. The negotiations took place with a looming deadline of June 5, at which point the US risks defaulting on its financial obligations, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned earlier this month.
Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer entered the negotiations advocating for a no-strings-attached raise of the debt ceiling, while McCarthy started talks with House Republicans having passed legislation to raise the debt ceiling in exchange for spending cuts and other economic reforms.
Biden characterized the deal as a "compromise" in which neither side gets everything they want. The proposal would raise the debt ceiling for two years in exchange for limited reforms proposed by Republicans, including reclaiming unspent COVID recovery funds and cutting some Internal Revenue Service funding.
"The American people elected House Republicans to stop the out-of-control inflationary spending that has broken family budgets," McCarthy said in a joint statement with other House Republican leaders. "The Fiscal Responsibility Act does what is responsible for our children, what is possible in divided government, and what is required by our principles and promises."
Schumer has also expressed his support for the Biden-McCarthy deal, urging senators to act urgently to deliver Biden a final agreement.
However, the Fiscal Responsibility Act faces several barriers to hasty passage by the US Congress, including opposition by the House Freedom Caucus and an amendment proposed by Senator Rand Paul.
On Tuesday, members of the House Freedom Caucus, led by Congressman Scott Perry, held a press conference to express opposition to the Biden-McCarthy plan. The proposal "fails" to achieve what Republicans in Congress set out to do, Perry said, promising that the caucus would do everything in its power to stop the bill's passage.
Freedom Caucus members criticized the plan for reducing reforms included in the Limit, Save, Grow Act, which House lawmakers passed earlier this year; the bill raises the debt ceiling in exchange for spending cuts and other fiscal reforms, with exceptions for the military and veterans.
Prior to consideration on the House floor, the House Rules Committee must first vote on the rule for debate on the bill. Lawmakers have proposed dozens of amendments to the legislation, including an amendment by Perry to strike the entirety of the bill and insert the House-passed Republican Limit, Save, Grow Act.
Congressman Dan Bishop said on Tuesday that a motion to vacate, which would remove McCarthy as speaker, is not off the table if a new deal is not struck. A spokesman for House Freedom Caucus member Congressman Andy Biggs told Sputnik that the lawmaker is "focused on voting against the McCarthy-Biden plan first."
McCarthy on Tuesday appeared unconcerned by the threats to remove him as speaker, telling a reporter who asked whether he expected to keep his post, "You guys ask me all the time. I'm still standing. ... You know what, keep underestimating me. You'll go far that way,"
The bill also faces proposed changes in the upper chamber by Senator Paul, who on Tuesday announced an amendment overhauling the Fiscal Responsibility Act. Paul's amendment, which he characterized as a "conservative alternative," would replace a two-year blanket suspension of the debt ceiling with a $500 billion increase, the senator said in a statement.
The amendment replaces caps on discretionary spending with caps on total spending that cuts five percent each year as well, the statement said. The amendment also creates a mandate that growth in Federal outlays may not exceed growth in revenue from the previous fiscal year, the statement added.
Despite the hurdles to passage, McCarthy told reporters on Tuesday that he is confident the House will pass the legislation. McCarthy said he is "not quite sure" where fellow Republicans are opposed to the bill.
McCarthy likewise expressed confidence that the bill would make it through the Rules Committee process.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said on Tuesday that Democrats are committed to making sure that Republicans "keep their promise" to garner at least 150 votes in support of the bill.
If the Rules Committee advances the legislation, the full House could vote on the bill as early as Wednesday. Schumer told Senate Democrats that the upper chamber will begin immediate consideration following passage by the House, warning them to prepare for possible Friday and weekend votes.
