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Freedom Caucus Chair Blasts White House For Punting Debt Ceiling Talks For Months Then Saying There Is ‘Limited Time’ To Negotiate

   DailyWire.com
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House Freedom Caucus Chair Scott Perry (R-PA) blasted White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre after she said that lawmakers have “limited time” to raise the debt ceiling, an assertion which comes after the Biden administration delayed negotiations on the matter for several weeks.

The debt ceiling, a policy established by Congress that prevents the federal government from spending beyond the predetermined national debt limit of $31.4 trillion, surpassed that threshold earlier this year. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and President Joe Biden met in early February to discuss possible mechanisms to raise or eliminate the debt limit, but the commander-in-chief delayed further meetings for several months.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned on Monday that the nation could face a default as soon as the first day of June unless the debt limit is amended. Jean-Pierre therefore asserted in a Tuesday press briefing that McCarthy is seeking to “hold the full faith and credit of the United States hostage” by insisting that any move to increase the debt ceiling should occur alongside meaningful spending cuts or limits upon future expenditures.

“Given the limited time Congress now has, it is clear the only practical path to avoid default is for Congress to suspend the debt limit without conditions,” she commented.

Perry reacted to the claim by noting that time to increase the debt ceiling is only limited because of the administration’s refusal to negotiate. “This is like a pyromaniac starting a fire and watching it burn for months suddenly declaring it needs to be put out while simultaneously pouring more gas on it,” the lawmaker told The Daily Wire. “Americans are fed up with economic illiteracy of a president who’s been willfully negligent and disconnected from the harm he’s caused our families, workers, and job creators.”

Members of the House Freedom Caucus, a bloc of conservative Republicans, have said they would consider voting to raise the debt ceiling in exchange for a framework which returns expenditures to fiscal year 2022 levels, raises the debt ceiling only for the next year, and limits annual spending growth to 1% over the next decade. McCarthy unveiled a budget proposal which mirrored the framework and passed the House last week.

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Some lawmakers in the House Freedom Caucus previously refused to grant McCarthy control of the gavel earlier this year unless he promised to support a budget which does not allow the debt ceiling to rise. The budget framework passed last week is expected to reduce deficits by $4.8 trillion over the next decade, according to an analysis from the Congressional Budget Office.

Jean-Pierre added that Biden called a meeting with senior House and Senate lawmakers for next week in order to “discuss the urgency and importance of avoiding default.” White House officials will propose creating a “separate process to address the budget and appropriations, because we have long said we welcome a conversation about spending priorities.”

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) has also criticized Biden for refusing to negotiate with McCarthy and other Republican leaders, calling the move a “deficiency of leadership” and urging both sides to reach an agreement. “For the sake of the country, I urge President Biden to come to the table, propose a plan for real and substantive spending cuts and deficit reduction, and negotiate now.”

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The Daily Wire   >  Read   >  Freedom Caucus Chair Blasts White House For Punting Debt Ceiling Talks For Months Then Saying There Is ‘Limited Time’ To Negotiate