What’s The Deal With The Fight Over The Debt Ceiling?
FiveThirtyEightNov 30, 2022
US Debt Ceiling Talks: First Hurdle Cleared, Tensions Remain
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Image copyright: Press Office of US Rep. Chip Roy [via Wikimedia Commons]
The Facts
Despite some conservative opposition, the House Rules Committee voted 7-6 on Tuesday to send a bipartisan bill to raise the debt ceiling and limit government spending to the floor for a full House vote, which is expected Wednesday. The motion passed after Freedom Caucus member Thomas Massie joined six other Republicans to vote in favor.
Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Democratic Pres. Joe Biden agreed to the deal over the weekend, but members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus are reportedly planning to vote against it.
The Spin
Democratic narrative
After weeks of coming together to offer Biden a debt ceiling negotiation starting point, the GOP has fallen back to its default position of divisiveness and disregard for diplomacy. Democrats, meanwhile, are proving themselves unified as they prepare to accept a bill that offers them some of the things they want and some of the things Republicans have asked for. Whether the GOP is playing performative games or not, it certainly has shown its willingness to create chaos even if it threatens the US economy.
Republican narrative
Democrats were certainly unified in this negotiation — unified in their choice to hide from the debate. This bill is a huge win for the GOP and every American who cares about fiscal responsibility. By capping domestic spending growth at 1% per year, Congress will reduce the deficit and actually spend less money next year than it did this year. It will cut unnecessary spending like the CDC's $400M Global Health Fund and simply ask welfare beneficiaries to work for their benefits. This is a pro-worker bill that both parties can and should applaud.
Progressive narrative
The Democrats in charge of this negotiation should not be celebrated. They have handed Republicans cuts to both life-saving welfare and IRS funding to target wealthy tax evaders. In another show of fake bipartisanship, the warmongering duo of Biden and McCarthy were both happy to ensure the military received a funding boost while regular Americans were stripped of their benefits. Biden could have ignored the GOP's economic hostage-taking and invoked the 14th Amendment, but that wouldn't get him the establishment brownie points he so heavily relies on.
Conservative narrative
Despite the media hype over this so-called unprecedented debt ceiling debate, McCarthy and Biden have been engaging in the same political posturing that every Congress has done in recent years. While they provide nice sound bites, the spending cuts achieved here still won't stop 21% of the budget from consisting of debt paybacks by 2053. Republicans know that Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are the real problems, but they are too busy kicking the can down the road to notice the country's impending economic doom.
