Schumer: ‘If Speaker McCarthy doesn’t change course, we’re are headed for default’
Samantha-Jo Roth
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) warned the United States is “headed for default” in response to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy‘s (R-CA) debt limit speech at the New York Stock Exchange, calling the speech “theater” during a press conference on Monday.
“What we got today is not a plan. It’s a recycled pile of the same things he has been saying for months,” Schumer said to reporters during a press conference.
MCCARTHY MAKES CASE FOR PAIRING SPENDING CUTS WITH DEBT CEILING FIX IN NYSE ADDRESS
McCarthy outlined a proposal to lift the nation’s credit limit for one year in exchange for significant spending cuts and policy changes to federal assistance programs on Monday. He said House Republicans could vote “in the coming weeks.” Republicans have yet to offer a budget plan that would set out specifics of where the spending cuts would fall, which President Joe Biden and Schumer have repeatedly called on them to do. Schumer rejected one of the specific details McCarthy mentioned on Monday.
“Amazingly, one of the few specifics McCarthy presented is this terrible idea to kick the can down the road for just one year and undergo the same crisis again,” Schumer said. “Why would anyone want to undergo this crisis again and again and again and again?”
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Schumer called on the House speaker to “show us your plan,” a rallying cry he’s been using since early January. McCarthy’s speech comes as Republicans have yet to agree on a fiscal blueprint for the budget. It’s unclear whether the proposal outlined by McCarthy on Monday could pass in the lower chamber with a slim majority. His proposal appeared to be significantly narrower than demands from some in the party that included balancing the budget in 10 years.
Negotiations have been at a stalemate as both sides attempt to leverage the debt ceiling crisis to advance their own positions. Democrats remain firm in their stance that House Republicans should raise the nation’s borrowing limit with no conditions. House Republicans continue to reject that position and assert they won’t pass a debt ceiling increase unless they have an agreement with the White House on budget cuts.
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The speaker sent a letter to Biden on March 28 urging him to restart negotiations, accusing him of putting the economy “in jeopardy” by refusing to negotiate. Biden and Democrats have repeatedly said a second meeting could not occur until Republicans release their proposed budget for the next fiscal year. Biden responded that day, telling McCarthy that House Republicans must first release their proposed budget ahead of a meeting.
The Treasury Department warned on Jan. 19 it was using extraordinary measures to prevent a government default. It’s unclear on what date the U.S. will default, but it will likely happen in the summer if lawmakers don’t come to an agreement. The Senate majority leader said he had not received any new updates from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on when a default could occur.