On Thursday, the House passed a bill to raise the debt ceiling, thus protecting the federal government from becoming unable to pay its bills, while also putting a tight cap on future spending increases.
The bill does not “slash spending,” as critics may claim – it merely limits spending increases, Fox News explains:
“The Limit, Save, Grow Act aims to raise the debt limit by $1.5 trillion or through the end of March 2024, whichever benchmark is hit first. It also caps spending increases to 1% for the next decade. Meanwhile, in addition to the aforementioned cost-saving measures, it also caps discretionary spending at fiscal 2022 levels.”
With Democrats controlling the Senate and a Democrat president who has promised to veto the legislation because it limits spending increases, the measure faces an uphill battle from this point forward.
“Now Democrats should do their job,” House Speaker Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said following the vote, in a tweet announcing the bill’s passage. In a separate tweet, McCarthy posted video of his comments to the press.
President Biden—continuing to ignore our nation's debt crisis is not an option. It is well past time for you to come to the table to negotiate. https://t.co/xBoRMdKYqM
— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) April 26, 2023