Name: US Debt Ceiling Deal Clears Crucial Hurdle Ahead of House Vote
Uploaded: 2023-05-31T14:54:33.000Z
Description: The U.S. debt ceiling agreement established by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) during the Memorial Day long weekend cleared a critical hurdle that will allow House lawmakers to vote on the deal.

Stefania Cox is an NTD News anchor and national correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Stefania anchors "NTD Newsroom," and co-anchors "NTD News Today" weekdays at 10:00 am ET.

Stefania Cox

Cary Dunst is the news anchor for NTD Evening News. He is also the co-host of NTD Good Morning.


Cary Dunst

NTD Plus

News

We present news that is truthful and based on facts, outside of the political fog. Instead of focusing on the negative things happening around us, our mission is to give our viewers a good morning with empathetic and uplifting stories. Our aim is to provide an antidote to negativity by shining a light on the best side of people. We speak to inspiring people who positively impact communities, pursue topics that represent our common human values, and will never miss an opportunity to bring you heartwarming stories.

NTD Good Morning

Smart Spending: How to Save on Summer Travel

UAE Suffered More Iranian Missiles Than Israel, Paving Way for Iron Dome: Analyst

NTD Newsroom comprises teams of reporters, editors, and producers assigned to cover breaking news and other stories.


NTD Newsroom

Washington Event to Rededicate US as ‘One Nation Under God’

Best-Selling Author Concerned Christians May Be Next in China’s State-Sanctioned Organ Trade

Jason Perry is an Army veteran and NTD's National Security Correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Jason primarily covers border security, national defense, foreign wars, and veterans' issues.

Jason Perry

Pentagon Paves the Way to Buy 10,000 Containerized Missiles

US Reports No Hantavirus Cases From Cruise Outbreak

Juliette Fairley is a freelance reporter for NTD and The Epoch Times and a graduate of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Born in Chateauroux, France, and raised outside of Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, Juliette is a well-adjusted military brat. She has written for many publications across the country. Send Juliette story ideas at JulietteFairley@gmail.com

Juliette Fairley

Daniel Monaghan is a reporter for NTD News covering culture, social issues, and education. He holds a BA in Political Science and Government.

Daniel Monaghan

US News

Politics

Executive Branch

Rubio: China is ‘Top Geopolitical Challenge’

The Associated Press is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. 

The Associated Press

Jury Awards $49.5 Million to Family of Woman Killed in 2019 Boeing Max Crash

Andrew Moran has been writing about business, economics, and finance for more than a decade. He is the author of "The War on Cash."

Andrew Moran

China News

Trump Departs China After 2-Day Talks With Xi

Haika Mrema

Medical Plane Crash in New Mexico Mountains Kills 4, Sparks Wildfire

Accommodating, Enabling China’s Regime a Failed Strategy: China Expert

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 15)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 14)

Kevin Hogan is an NTD News data reporter and national correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Kevin covers breaking news, as well as U.S. and global current events. He conveys the news through data visualizations and investigates pressing issues.

Kevin Hogan

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 13)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 12)

President Trump Leaves for China Today; Calif. Mayor to Plead Guilty to Acting as CCP Agent | NTD Good Morning (May 12)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 8)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 7)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 6)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 5)

Fast, compelling, first-hand news from China. China in Focus airs Monday–Friday at 8 p.m. ET.

China in Focus

China Sends Warships to Pacific Drill as Tensions With Japan Rise

Reuters is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages.

Reuters

2 US Embassy Personnel Assigned to Cartel Case Killed in Car Accident

Gunman Kills 8 Children, Including 7 of His Own, in Louisiana Mass Shooting

Flora Hua is a reporter based at NTD's global headquarters in New York City, where she covers China news, U.S.-China relations, and human rights issues. Flora primarily contributes to NTD's "China in Focus."  

Flora Hua

Trump: Seized Iranian Ship May Have ‘A Gift From China’

Joseph Lord is a congressional reporter for The Epoch Times.


Joseph Lord

Aldgra Fredly is a freelance writer covering U.S. and Asia Pacific news for The Epoch Times.

Aldgra Fredly

Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani Hospitalized in Critical Condition: Spokesman

Wildfires Across Georgia and Florida Have Destroyed Nearly 50 Homes and Are Forcing Evacuations

News you can trust from the U.S. and around the world. Critical information and insight. We cover the stories that others don’t. NTD News Today airs Monday–Friday at 11 a.m. ET.

NTD News Today

US Warns of China Hacks via Routers, Smart Devices

Juliet Song is an international correspondent exclusively covering China news for NTD. She primarily contributes to NTD's "China in Focus," covering U.S.-China relations, the Chinese regime's human rights abuses, and domestic unrest inside China.

Juliet Song

2 Americans Among Suspected Communist Rebels Killed in Clashes With Troops, Philippine Officials Say

Ryan Morgan is a reporter for The Epoch Times focusing on military and foreign affairs. He was previously a news writer for NTD. 


Ryan Morgan

Mari Otsu is NTD's White House correspondent based in Washington. 

Mari Otsu

World News

Middle East

Iran

3 US Warships Fend Off Iranian Attacks, Trump Says Ceasefire Still Holds

Health News

3 Dead in Suspected Hantavirus Outbreak on Cruise Ship in Atlantic Ocean: WHO

The U.S. debt ceiling agreement established by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) during the Memorial Day long weekend cleared a critical hurdle that will allow House lawmakers to vote on the deal.

The House Rules Committee passed it with a vote of 7 to 6, advancing the debt limit bill—the Fiscal Responsibility Act—to the congressional floor on May 30 for a debate and vote.

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) voted against it, joining all four Democrats on the powerful committee. There had been concern that it would not make it out of the committee because some of the loudest conservative critics are members, including Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who supported the legislation going before his colleagues.

Dozens of amendments were put forward by Republicans and Democrats. However, the Rules Committee denied each proposal to ensure the debt limit deal crafted by White House and House GOP negotiators was intact.

“I don't like this process that led to this bill. There are things to dislike and things to like about this bill,” Massie said during the hearing. “When people want to express their ideology, the floor of the House on the actual final passage of the bill is the place to do that.”

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) speaks at a House Second Amendment Caucus press conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on June 8, 2022. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

The Biden–McCarthy agreement has angered many Republicans in both chambers, including Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), who told reporters on Capitol Hill on May 30 that the proposal "canonizes post-COVID spending levels brought to us by Joe Biden and the Democrats."

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) <a href="https://twitter.com/NancyMace/status/1663512937967898626">accused</a> the GOP leadership of being "outsmarted" by the White House.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) <a href="https://www.paul.senate.gov/dr-rand-paul-announces-conservative-alternative-to-biden-mccarthy-debt-deal/">announced</a> a "conservative alternative" to the Biden–McCarthy debt deal. One of the proposals consists of replacing the two-year suspension on the debt ceiling with a $500 billion increase to force "Congress to come back to the table to do their job and figure out solutions to the cascading debt issue highlighted by the debt ceiling."
<h2>CBO Issues Verdict</h2>
The debt limit agreement could reduce spending by more than $1 trillion over the next decade, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) wrote in a new <a href="https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2023-05/hr3746_Letter_McCarthy.pdf">report</a>.

The non-partisan watchdog estimated that the spending limits proposed for 2024 and 2025 could trim approximately $1.3 trillion from the administration's projected federal budget deficits from 2023 to 2033.

"Reductions in projected discretionary outlays would amount to $1.3 trillion over the 2024–2033 period," CBO director Phillip Swagel wrote in a letter to the speaker of the House. "Mandatory spending would, on net, decrease by $10 billion, and revenues would, on net, decrease by $2 billion over the 2023–2033 period."

In addition, the CBO projected that interest on the public debt would decrease by $188 billion in this span.

"This will be the largest spending cut that Congress has ever voted for in history," McCarthy <a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakerMcCarthy/status/1663701020503945216">posted on Twitter</a> regarding to the CBO report.
<h2><strong>Coming to the Table</strong></h2>
The bipartisan deal finalized over the weekend has been touted by both negotiating parties as a compromise—a fact that Rules Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) highlighted in his opening remarks.

“As I’ve often said, in a true negotiation, you always get less than you want and give up more than you’d like,” Cole said. “But with the passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, we’ll responsibly lift the debt ceiling and avoid a default that would devastate the American economy. And we will achieve real reductions in spending while doing so. Indeed, this is the most consequential spending reduction bill in more than a decade.”

Among the bill’s many provisions are a rescission of roughly $28 billion in unspent COVID-19 relief funds, the rescission of about $1.4 billion in IRS funding, stricter work requirements for certain government assistance programs, and a cap on total non-defense discretionary spending—excluding veterans’ benefits—at $637 billion for the fiscal year 2024, representing a $1 billion decrease from 2023. That total would increase by 1 percent in 2025.

Massie, for his part, said he was encouraged by the inclusion of <a href="https://twitter.com/RepThomasMassie/status/1663017468976144385">his own provision</a> that if Congress fails to pass all of its appropriations bills by Jan. 1, 2024, spending would be reduced by 1 percent year-over-year.

“There are things to dislike and things to like about this bill, but the one redeeming portion for me is Section 102, where we’re … everybody forced to come to the table and do our job, pass all 12 appropriations bills. If we haven’t at that point, there’ll be a 1 percent cut.”

However, during his remarks, Roy countered that the measure would only encourage Congress to “jam through” an omnibus spending bill right before the deadline.

“That’s what’ll happen—it’s what happens every year,” he said. “And then the question will be, ‘What is the check against that?’ Well, the check against that is right here.”
<h2><strong>A ‘Reckoning’</strong></h2>
At a press conference prior to the committee hearing, the Freedom Caucus took aim at the deal for its lack of a specified debt limit, noting that the bill merely suspends the limit until January 2025.

“Tomorrow’s bill hands Biden a blank check as it doesn’t actually set a debt limit,” Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) noted. “This is an unlimited debt increase, allowing him to spend as much money as he wants through the end of his term.”

Others, like Roy, criticized the House speaker for not fighting harder in the debt limit negotiations, especially in relation to the rescinded COVID relief and IRS funding.

“Take that [COVID] money, take IRS money, and go tell [Treasury Secretary] Janet Yellen, ‘You’re going to pay every bill you need to pay, and we’re going to sit down at the table and do the job for the American people,’” Roy said. “But don’t tell me you’re going to put me over a barrel for $4 trillion because you refused to do your job. That is what Speaker McCarthy should have told the president of the United States.”

Ultimately, the bill is set to add another $4 trillion to the national debt.

During the press conference, Roy vowed that there would be a “<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/house-freedom-caucus-vows-reckoning-if-gop-passes-debt-limit-deal_5300164.html">reckoning</a>” if the bill was not killed. Although he did not specify what that reckoning would involve, his fellow Freedom Caucus member Dan Bishop (R-N.C.) indicated that he would support ousting McCarthy from his role as speaker.

“It is inescapable to me,” Bishop said. “I think it’s got to be done.”

Despite Bishop’s public admission, McCarthy told reporters on Capitol Hill Tuesday that he was not concerned about losing the gavel and that he wasn’t sure why some members of his conference opposed the deal.

“I’m not sure what in the bill people are concerned about,” he said. “It is the largest savings of $2.1 trillion we’ve ever had.”

<em>By Samantha Flom and Andrew Moran</em>

<em>From <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/us-debt-ceiling-deal-clears-crucial-hurdle-ahead-of-house-vote_5301948.html">The Epoch Times</a></em>

Latest

Videos

01_Lead Story

04_Top Stories

Latest Clips

Kevin McCarthy

Management

debt ceiling

Iris Tao is NTD's White House correspondent based in Washington. Prior to her work at the White House, Iris reported on U.S. politics and U.S.–China relations from NTD’s New York headquarters. She holds degrees in journalism and economics from Boston University.

Iris Tao

02_Second Lead

Samantha Flom is a reporter for The Epoch Times covering U.S. politics and news. A graduate of Syracuse University, she has a background in journalism and nonprofit communications.
Contact her at samantha.flom@epochtimes.us

Samantha Flom

House Rules Committee

Latest and breaking news, documentaries, movies, and lifestyle content on NTD+.
 
Empower your knowledge and elevate your spirit with NTD+, your go-to destination for truthful news, insightful documentaries, and captivating lifestyle content that enriches your life.