Report: Speaker McCarthy Believes He Has Votes to Pass Debt Ceiling Resolution

Nick Gilbertson

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) reportedly said Monday that he believes there are 218 votes to pass House Republicans’ forthcoming debt ceiling resolution, which he said contains measures to limit federal spending, save taxpayers’ money, and “grow the economy.”

McCarthy unveiled the framework for the impending legislation from House Republicans at the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, his 100th day as speaker of the House. Soon after McCarthy’s remarks, CNN Senior Capitol Hill Reporter Haley Talbot tweeted that he told the outlet, “I think we got 218 to raise the debt ceiling.”

“We’ve got a lot of consensus within the conference. We’ll get together and work through it,” he added.

While speaking at the stock exchange, McCarthy declared that a resolution to raise the debt ceiling without conditions, as had long been the White House’s posture, will not advance from the House:

Let me be clear, A no strings attached debt limit increase will not pass. But since the president continues to hide, House Republicans will take action. So here’s our plan, in the coming weeks the House will vote on a bill to lift the debt ceiling into the next year, save taxpayers trillions of dollars, make us less dependent upon China, curve our high inflation, all without touching Social Security and Medicare. Simply put, it puts us on fiscally responsible path in three ways: It limits, it saves, and it grows.

The legislation would return “the federal government to 2022 levels and then limit the growth of spending over the next ten years to one percent of annual growth,” he emphasized.

“Now don’t believe anyone that tells you these are draconian limits,” said McCarthy noting the “spending levels” are no different than the ones passed in October.

If lawmakers and the president wish to spend more, they will need to make cuts elsewhere, according to the speaker:

But the bloated overflow bureaucracy that has expanded under President Biden needs to be probed and that’s exactly what we’ll do. If Washington wants to spend more, it will have to come together to find savings elsewhere. Just like every single American household does every single day. This will restore discipline to Washington, the budgeting, and help put an ends to the reckless spending that caused inflation.

Concerning protecting taxpayer dollars, McCarthy said, “We owe it to our children to save money everywhere,” adding that “Our proposal will examine wasteful Washington spending and executive overreach in all forms.”

Among other measures, the House Republicans plan to “call back tens of billions of dollars in COVID-related money.”

“If the money was authorized to fight the pandemic but was not spent during the pandemic, it should not be spent after the pandemic is over,” he said.

Finally, Mccarthy said the bill aims to grow the economy by restoring the United States’ status as a leader in the energy sector, bringing “jobs back to America,” and a revival of stronger work requirements:

Our proposal will also restore work requirements that ensure able-bodied adults without dependents earn a pay check and learn new skills. That will grow our economy and help the supply chain. Right now there are more job openings than people who are looking for jobs. You know why? It’s in part because the Biden Administration weakened work requirements. incentives matter and the incentives today are out of whack. It’s time to get Americans back to work.

Don’t believe anyone who says our plans hurt America’s social safety net. We’re a very generous nation, and when people fall on tough times, we’ll help them. That will not change. But this is important, assistant programs are supposed to be temporary not permanent. A hand-up not a hand-out. A bridge to end dependence not a barrier.

Just as Ronald Regan understood the importance of economic growth, we should welcome and celebrate the benefits of a strong growing economy. For with a strong growing economy, we will no longer be dependent on China, we will no longer be victims to inflation and we can protect and preserve social security and Medicare. 

McCarthy noted that since his February 1 meeting with Biden over the debt ceiling, the White House has not reached out to him.

Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Monday called on Biden to negotiate with the speaker, according to Punchbowl News’ senior congressional reporter Andrew Desiderio.

“President Biden does not get to stick his fingers in his ears and refuse to listen, talk or negotiate … The White House needs to stop wasting time and start negotiating with the speaker of the House,” said McConnell.

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