Topline
The Senate is set to hold a hearing Thursday on raising the debt ceiling, marking the first official course of action in addressing the Republican-led legislation that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has vowed to block—but the ongoing absence of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) could give Republicans additional leverage in pushing the bill through the upper chamber.
FILE – Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., questions Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson during … [+]
Key Facts
The hearings beginning this week will “expose the true impact of this reckless legislation on everyday Americans,” Schumer said in a letter to senators on Monday.
Schumer’s letter comes after the House passed legislation last week that would raise the federal borrowing limit, which is expected to expire sometime this summer, and implement a string of Republican spending cuts, including tightening work requirements for recipients of Medicaid and food stamps and reducing funding for the Education Department, which has warned that the proposal would force it to scale back Pell grants for low-income college students.
Schumer repeated his stance, which is also shared by President Joe Biden, that senators will only agree to raising the debt ceiling without any other conditions attached, writing “the real solution is bipartisan support for a clean bill to increase the debt limit and avoid default.”
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who is recovering from shingles in California, could threaten Democrats’ promise to block the legislation as it leaves the party with one less vote in the upper chamber, meaning just one Democrat would need to join Republicans to pass the bill, though Biden has said he would veto it.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who is known as the most moderate Democrat in the Senate and often votes with the GOP, has broken from his party in urging Democrats to negotiate with Republicans in raising the debt limit—a sign that he could be open to voting alongside the GOP for a debt ceiling bill that tacks on spending cuts.
Key Background
The House voted 217-215 on Wednesday to raise the federal government’s $31.4 trillion borrowing limit by $1.5 trillion through March of next year. The legislation would also cut federal funding by $130 billion in fiscal year 2024, reverse spending to fiscal year 2022 levels and limit future budget growth to 1% per year. Congress must raise the federal debt limit to avoid a catastrophic default, which could happen sometime this summer. Lawmakers have agreed to raising the debt ceiling several times in modern history, and the U.S. has never defaulted on its debt. But under the current split Congress—where the GOP’s slim majority in the House gives far-right members outsize leverage in pushing through their demands—lawmakers are locked in a stalemate in the high-stakes negotiations. Biden said last week he would veto the House bill and has instead urged Republicans to negotiate their spending priorities through the fiscal year 2024 budget process. Though the bill is likely doomed in its current form, it serves as a baseline negotiating tool for McCarthy and Republicans.
Crucial Quote
“Speaker [Kevin] McCarthy has surrendered to the far-right extremist members of his caucus and the DOA is their crown jewel,” Schumer wrote. “If Speaker McCarthy was a serious good-faith negotiator, he would have not let extremists take him hostage and move this debate in the wrong direction.”
What To Watch For
When Feinstein will return to the Senate. In announcing her shingles diagnosis in March, she said she would return to the Senate after the Easter recess, but extended her absence until an unidentified date. At least three House Democrats have called for her resignation, and amplified their demands after Manchin voted alongside Republicans last week to revoke an EPA rule that limits heavy-truck emissions. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) stopped short of calling for Feinstein’s resignation, but noted that her absence could impact the debt limit negotiations in an interview earlier this month, telling ABC “We are going to need her vote on the Senate floor eventually. We have things like the debt ceiling coming up.”
Further Reading
House Approves Raising Debt Limit—But Biden Plans To Veto Bill (Forbes)
McCarthy Unveils Bill To Increase Debt Limit Through 2024—While Biden Blasts Long-Shot Proposal As ‘Whacko’ (Forbes)
Federal Government Officially Reaches Debt Limit, Triggering ‘Extraordinary Measures’ To Prevent A Default—Here’s What That Means (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2023/05/01/senate-takes-first-step-on-debt-ceiling-as-feinsteins-absence-could-help-gop-push-bill-loathed-by-democrats/