(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) House Republicans passed on Wednesday the Limit, Save, Grow Act to raise the debt ceiling and partially limit the federal government’s spending. Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., championed the bill as a warning to President Joe Biden’s massive government spending. Four Republicans disagreed, joining Democrats, who all voted against the bill but for different reasons, in an effort to thwart the legislation.
The bill, which came to fruition after several weeks of negotiations between the House GOP, seeks to push government spending to 2022’s levels, Newsweek reported. But Reps. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and Ken Buck, R-Colo., warned that the bill did not go far enough to cut spending.
“Whether you drive off a cliff at 60 miles per hour or 80 miles per hour, the end result is the same: a horrific crash,” Biggs said in a press statement. “That’s what we’re presented with today. The Limit, Save, Grow Act is touted to ‘save’ $4.8 trillion. In reality, it merely reduces the 2033 projected national debt from $52 trillion to around $47 trillion.”
My response to House Leadership's paltry debt ceiling legislation titled the Limit, Save, Grow Act: pic.twitter.com/pf3UWiLETD
— Rep Andy Biggs (@RepAndyBiggsAZ) April 26, 2023
Burchett said he had never voted to raise the debt ceiling “no matter who was in charge,” adding that “our country is nearly $32 trillion in debt right now.”
My statement on voting against raising the debt ceiling. pic.twitter.com/fKJgaHJabH
— Rep. Tim Burchett (@RepTimBurchett) April 26, 2023
Slightly differing from his colleagues who voted against the bill, Buck called the McCarthy-led legislation a “step in the right direction,” but also warned it “does not do enough to rein in the federal government’s reckless spending.”
Today, I once again voted "no" on the bill to raise the U.S. debt ceiling. This is why. ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/75JzIKVVOP
— Rep. Ken Buck (@RepKenBuck) April 26, 2023
Gaetz, who has been vocally anti-McCarthy, credited House Republicans for attempting to cut spending but said the bill still has a bad ending.
“This plan will increase America’s debt by $16 trillion over the next ten years,” he said on a press statement. “Gaslighting nearly $50 trillion in debt to America is something my conscious cannot abide at this time.”
As our nation is careening into a $32 trillion debt, Congress shouldn't be making final changes at 2 a.m. – the morning of the vote – to legislation raising the debt limit $1.5 trillion.
While I applaud the work of my Republican colleagues to demand better energy policy,… pic.twitter.com/jaaoCwYyHG
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) April 26, 2023
“House Republicans just delivered a plan that will address the country’s debt crisis,” McCarthy boasted on a press release. “Our conference came together to pass the only plan in Washington that will tackle the debt ceiling, stop excessive federal spending and inflation, and put our country back on track for sustained economic growth.”
The bill is expected to be rejected by the Democrat-led U.S. Senate with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer calling it “dead on arrival.”
“These measures, and they’re truly extreme, have no place in a debate about avoiding default,” Schumer said Wednesday during a speech on the U.S. Senate floor. “I urge Speaker McCarthy to stop wasting any more time on this DOA, dead on arrival, bill. Time is running out for Congress to work together to avoid catastrophe.”
Biden refused to meet with McCarthy to debate the debt ceiling. “I’m happy to meet with McCarthy, but not on whether or not the debt limit gets extended,” Biden said Wednesday when asked by reporters on the debt ceiling. “That’s not negotiable.”
President Joe Biden said he was willing to meet with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy but said raising the debt ceiling was ‘not negotiable’ https://t.co/kpvTdxTy7q pic.twitter.com/wfm8dXdru0
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 26, 2023
