43 Republican senators vow to oppose raising the debt ceiling without spending cuts
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More than 40 Republican senators vowed in a letter to oppose 'any bill that raises the debt ceiling without substantive spending and budget reforms.'
Most Senate Republicans, all but six of them, vowed on Saturday to oppose raising the US public debt ceiling “without substantial spending and budget reform,” backing the position of House Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
The group of 43 senators, led by Mike Lee, from Utah, assured that they are “united behind the Republican House conference in support of spending cuts and structural budget reform as a starting point for ceiling negotiations.” debt in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
2/ Our economy is in free fall due to unsustainable fiscal policies. This trajectory must be addressed with fiscal reforms. Moreover, recent Treasury projections have reinforced the urgency of addressing the debt ceiling.
— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) May 6, 2023
3/ The House has taken a responsible first step in coming to the table with their proposals. It is imperative that the president now do the same. As such, we will not be voting for cloture on any bill that raises the debt ceiling without substantive spending and budget reforms.
— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) May 6, 2023
Republicans have repeatedly advocated spending cuts tied to the debt ceiling, and the White House says it will not negotiate on the matter.
Senate Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell earlier said the current debt limit negotiations should be handled entirely by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
This letter was released just before a meeting scheduled for May 9 at the White House where congressional leaders from both parties McConnell, Schumer, McCarthy and Jeffries are expected to have their first serious discussion on how to avoid default. of the United States debt.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned congressional leaders on Monday that the country could soon exhaust the extraordinary measures her department has employed since January to avoid what many experts warn would be an economic catastrophe.
Yellen warned that “our best estimate is that we will not be able to continue to meet all government obligations in early June, and possibly as soon as June 1, if Congress does not raise or suspend the debt limit by then.”
The president said he is “prepared to negotiate in detail" with the Republicans' budget, but stated that “there is no chance they can pass their budget, zero.”
The GOP-controlled House of Representatives voted party lines 217 to 215 last week to approve a proposal to raise the debt limit by $1.5 trillion and reduce spending by $4.8 trillion.