Congress returns to face debt ceiling fight, Judiciary battle House Republicans will start considering a plan to raise the nation’s $31.4 trillion borrowing limit when lawmakers return to the U.S. Capitol this week, while the Senate will grapple with a key vacancy that is holding up President Biden’s judicial nominees.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is putting together legislation that pairs a one-year increase in the debt ceiling with spending cuts and other spending limits that are aimed at winning the support of his conservative rank-and-file.
The proposal isn’t ready for floor consideration, but some Republicans say the House GOP should take up the measure this month, well ahead of a summer deadline imposed by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who said the government will run out of ways to pay the nation’s bills as early as June without Congress granting more borrowing authority.
Mr. McCarthy said he’s been seeking a meeting with Mr. Biden to negotiate a deal, but so far the White House has not agreed. White House officials have said repeatedly they won’t negotiate an increase in the debt limit and that Congress should agree to an increase without stipulations.
Mr. Biden earlier this month blamed the debt ceiling standoff on “extreme MAGA Republicans in Congress” who, he said, “are threatening to wreak havoc on our economy with debt limit brinkmanship.”
Across the Capitol, Senate Republicans will welcome back Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has been absent for six weeks after suffering a concussion in a fall........................
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/apr/16/congress-returns-face-debt-ceiling-fight-judiciary/
