OAN’s Brooke Mallory
10:48 AM – Sunday, May 28, 2023
President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy will meet this afternoon on May 28th to finalize the debt ceiling agreement, and then Republicans will release the legislative bill, according to House Democrat Leader Hakeem Jeffries who had informed the Democrat caucus of the news in a letter on Sunday.
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In order to raise the debt ceiling and prevent a disastrous default, negotiators came to a preliminary deal on Saturday night. According to Jeffries (D-N.Y.), in his letter to Democrats, the legislative text of the plan will be drafted by Republicans and vetted by the Biden administration before it is finished.
The legislative bill verbiage will be disclosed by House Republicans and made available to the House, Senate, and American people immediately after Biden and McCarthy (R-Calif.) speak, Jeffries says. He also noted that the House Democratic Caucus would receive a briefing on the arrangement at around 5 p.m. from senior officials in the White House.
“It is my expectation that over the next several days, there will be multiple opportunities to review and discuss the legislation with the Biden administration in advance of any midweek vote scheduled by House Republicans,” Jeffries wrote.
McCarthy had stated at a press conference on Sunday morning that he and Biden will discuss the bill’s language to “make sure both sides agree.”
Additionally, he stated that the legislative text of the bill will be reportedly 150 pages or fewer, that the arrangement has the support of the majority of congressional leaders, and that 95% of GOP lawmakers are “overwhelmingly excited” about it.
“This is going to be transformational, where Congress is literally going to vote to spend less money this year than we spent last year,” McCarthy maintained.
The tentative agreement was reached following weeks of negotiations led by Biden and McCarthy, and it is anticipated to increase the country’s borrowing ability in exchange for spending reductions. Once the legislative text is complete, it must be approved by both the Democrat-run Senate and the GOP-led House.
According to an insider source, it involves a two-year pact on appropriations and a two-year extension of the debt ceiling, effectively addressing the matter until after the 2024 election. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will have job requirements for recipients up to the age of 54, with the exception of homeless individuals and veterans. However, there will be “no changes to Medicaid,” the source insisted.
When questioned about whether he has spoken with Senate leaders, McCarthy said during a press conference on Sunday that he has not yet spoken with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), but that he did speak with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Saturday night to “walk him through” the whole plan.
In a later conference call on Sunday, McCarthy said he intends to discuss the arrangement with Senate Republicans as well.
On Saturday night, the House Republican Conference started distributing an information sheet about the accord to its members and their offices under the name “The Fiscal Responsibility Act.”
“Republicans will restore fiscal sanity and hold Washington accountable,” the memo said.
The deadline to act or risk exceeding the debt ceiling was extended last week to June 5th by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Previously, she had been less explicit, stating that the United States might run out of money “potentially as early as June 1st.”
In order to pay the nation’s debts, the department has been reportedly resorting to “extraordinary measures” since January, when it had reached the statutory borrowing cap.
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