Debt limit: Rand Paul offers alternative to debt ceiling deal as some House Republicans rebuke agreement
Asher Notheis
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Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has presented an alternative plan to the recent Fiscal Responsibility Act introduced by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).
Paul’s proposal comes as the agreement from McCarthy and Biden has drawn discontent among some Republican lawmakers, who are refusing to vote for the deal. Under Paul’s plan, the debt ceiling would be given a $500 billion increase to encourage Congress to take action on the nation’s debt sooner. Paul’s proposal also includes caps on both the sums of discretionary and mandatory spending, which would cut 5% spent every year, according to a statement from the senator.
DEBT LIMIT DEAL: WHERE IT STANDS AND WHAT IS STILL TO COME
“Sixty percent of Americans say Congress should only raise the nation’s debt ceiling if it cuts spending at the same time. I would guess the Americans answering that poll meant real cuts in spending, not an annual increase of one percent above already bloated levels of COVID-19 spending,” Paul’s statement read. “Bold actions must be taken to defeat our mounting national debt, and my conservative alternative to the Biden-McCarthy deal gives us a real opportunity to get our fiscal house in order.”
Biden and McCarthy introduced their Fiscal Responsibility Act on Saturday evening. The proposal suspends the debt ceiling until after the election cycle next year to allow the Treasury Department to keep borrowing money to pay the country’s bills until January 2025. The president and House speaker’s proposal differs from what Republicans had initially proposed, which would have raised the debt ceiling over the next year either by $1.5 trillion or until March 31, 2024, whichever came first.
Many Republicans have expressed their disapproval of the Fiscal Responsibility Act in the wake of its unveiling. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) stated on Tuesday that she would not support the plan and that Republicans got outsmarted by “a President who can’t find his pants.”
“I’m voting NO on the debt ceiling debacle because playing the DC game isn’t worth selling out our kids and grandkids,” Mace tweeted Tuesday morning.
https://twitter.com/RepNancyMace/status/1663510647190040578?s=20
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Other House Republicans, including Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Ralph Norman (R-SC), and Chip Roy (R-TX), have spoken out against the proposal.
“Not one Republican should vote for this deal,” Roy said. “It’s a bad deal.”