Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) eviscerated the debt ceiling deal between Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Joe Biden in a Twitter thread posted Tuesday morning in which she announced she would be voting “NO” on the deal. After a detailed takedown of the bill, Mace observed; “63% of Americans want Congress to cut spending as part of a debt ceiling deal. This bill doesn’t do that. Unacceptable.”
The Biden-McCarthy agreement is not holding up under scrutiny and is being seen by conservative lawmakers in both houses of Congress as a cave by McCarthy. (Read the 99 page bill at this link.)
For the complete thread on Twitter, click on this tweet:
Washington is broken.
Republicans got outsmarted by a President who can’t find his pants.
I’m voting NO on the debt ceiling debacle because playing the DC game isn’t worth selling out our kids and grandkids.
— Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) May 30, 2023
Mace: “Washington is broken. Republicans got outsmarted by a President who can’t find his pants. I’m voting NO on the debt ceiling debacle because playing the DC game isn’t worth selling out our kids and grandkids
Let’s dive into the bill: This “deal” normalizes record high spending started during the pandemic. It sets these historically high spending levels as the baseline for all future spending. The bill then grows govt even more each year at about ~1%.
After factoring in a small cut to discretionary spending over the next 2 yrs, we are still talking about ~$6T more or less in spending bc of large increases in spending elsewhere. In other words, it’s a wash spending-wise.
Govt grew massively over the past 3 years. This growth was supposed to be emergency funding only during COVID. During this time, govt grew 40% or by $2 trillion from 2019 to 2023. We went from spending just over $4T to spending just over $6T.
This deal keeps that record high spending intact and makes it the baseline for all spending. Wild.
The bill doesn’t actually set a debt limit. Rather it suspends the debt limit entirely until Jan. 2, 2025 and there is no actual amount capping the debt ceiling.
Some say there will be a $2T deficit in 6 years, but that CBO guesstimate relies on spending caps that do not exist and are not binding in any way in this deal.
And only in DC is a bill clawing back small amounts of unspent COVID funds considered a cut.
They tell us this bill cuts $41b in its first year; about the same amount as the unspent COVID funds. Pretty convenient. Also not a cut.
And on that note, do we really think the states will send back unspent COVID funds or will they find a way to use the money so they don’t have to send it back?
Pay-as-you-go has some fine print under Section 265 everyone should read. The OMB director has sole waiver authority to spend if it’s “necessary for program delivery.” So that one line wipes out PAYGO. These words on paper are totally meaningless if you read the fine print.
A $1.4b cut to the IRS doesn’t equal $80b in cuts to the IRS. Nor does it mean we are “gutting” the IRS or its 87k new hires. Allegedly there will be $10b cut off top for 2024 during the approps process. But it’s also not in bill. That money can be cut anywhere the IRS decides.
Work requirements for SNAP moved from age 50 to 54 and student loan forgiveness EO repeal never happened. Not sure why anyone even bothered here.
Manchin’s carve out for his pipeline is not germane to the bill. This is just your run of the mill govt picking winners and losers in the market and business as usual in Washington.
A continuing resolution at 99% in Section 102 only applies to discretionary and provides ample time for an omnibus should all else fail.
While we like the intent here, it’s like a Penny Plan for discretionary, but once again, bc of how it’s written, it’s meaningless.
Fully funds every spending request by the Administration (pretty much).
And just a friendly reminder, debt ceilings are about future outlays, about future spending, and how it will be financed. It’s not about past spending or past obligations from one Administration to another. Let that sink in.
63% of Americans want Congress to cut spending as part of a debt ceiling deal. This bill doesn’t do that. Unacceptable.
Washington is, was and always will be lousy at responsibly spending your tax dollars.
That won’t change unless we demand change.
Running tally of “No” Republicans by the DC Examiner’s Cami Mondeaux:
Keith Self (TX)
Nancy Mace (SC)
Wes Hunt (TX)
Cory Mills (FL)
Matt Gaetz (FL)
Anna Paulina Luna (FL)
Mary Miller (IL)
Likely no’s, but undecided:
Tim Burchett (TN)
Victoria Spartz (IN)
Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)
— Cami Mondeaux (@cami_mondeaux) May 30, 2023
A list with more GOP “no” votes compiled by CNN’s Haley Talbot:
Informal whip count latest —> pic.twitter.com/0uR0FZsZIh
— Haley Talbot (@haleytalbotcnn) May 30, 2023
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