The White House sent a combative response Tuesday after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) called for jumpstarting talks on the debt ceiling.
“It’s time for Republicans to stop playing games, pass a clean debt ceiling bill, and quit threatening our economic recovery,” said Karine Jean-Pierre, press secretary to President Joe Biden.
Her statement served as a retort to McCarthy’s letter to Biden on Tuesday, which warned that time is running out to raise the debt limit after their last meeting on the issue in February.
“With each passing day, I am incredibly concerned that you are putting an already fragile economy in jeopardy by insisting upon your extreme position of refusing to negotiate any meaningful changes to out of control government spending,” McCarthy wrote.
Mr. President:
I'm incredibly concerned you are putting an already fragile economy in jeopardy by insisting upon your extreme position on the debt limit. It’s time to drop partisanship, roll up our sleeves, & find common ground on this urgent challenge. https://t.co/HUbg7DckWU pic.twitter.com/t4zIaZUAqI
— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) March 28, 2023
As a starting place, McCarthy suggested he and Biden discuss ways to reduce spending and save taxpayer dollars. He listed potential areas for negotiation, including lowering “excessive” non-defense government spending, reclaiming unspent COVID relief funds, and shoring up work requirements “for those without dependents who can work.”
McCarthy asked that Biden’s team reach out to his office by the end of the week to set up their next meeting.
Time is of the essence, as experts warn of a default as early as this June that could cripple the U.S. economy.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen notified Congress in January that the United States had crossed the current statutory limit of $31.381 trillion and advised that her agency take “extraordinary measures” so the government could continue to pay its bills, but only in the short term.
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So far, the White House refuses to budge, putting the onus on Congress to raise the debt ceiling while faulting House Republicans for not introducing a budget proposal of their own as they demand spending cuts.
After noting Congress “has a constitutional obligation to address the debt limit – as they did three times in the previous administration without conditions,” Jean-Pierre said Biden “welcomes a separate conversation about our nation’s fiscal future.”
“Earlier this month, he released a budget that cuts the deficit by nearly $3 trillion while lowering costs for families and investing in America. Speaker McCarthy and his extreme MAGA caucus have refused to put out a budget,” Jean-Pierre said.
“All we’ve heard from them is a list of devastating cuts to law enforcement and border security and proposals to take health care away from Americans and raise health care and child care costs,” she added. “All to pay for their tax giveaway to the super-wealthy and corporations. In fact, their proposals don’t reduce the deficit at all.”