House Republicans Advance Debt Ceiling Bill

The House advanced on Wednesday the rules package for the Republican debt ceiling bill, which serves as the last major procedural hurdle before the bill’s planned vote for Wednesday night.

The House passed H. Res. 327, with 219 Republicans in favor and 210 Democrats against the measure. H. Res. 327 is the rules package that governs the rules by which the House could consider the Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023, the GOP debt ceiling bill.

The rules package also contains substantial changes to the debt ceiling package to curry favor with reluctant Republicans. To get midwestern Republicans behind the bill, Republicans softened a package that would have repealed many biofuel and ethanol tax credits. GOP leadership also accelerated work requirements for safety-net programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Medicaid.

Rep. Thomas  Massie (R-KY), a member of the House Rules Committee, said during Tuesday’s Rules Committee meeting, “How long can we go on spending beyond our means before it all crashes, or before we get into hyperinflation? I think the irresponsible thing to do is to raise the debt limit without taking any measures to take us off of this path, this road to hell—paved with great intentions—but with no fiscal responsibility or accountability.”

With the rules’ passage through the House, it remains more likely that the House would likely pass the Limit, Save, Grow Act. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) hopes to pass the debt ceiling legislation to force President Joe Biden to negotiate on a long-term debt ceiling provision that would hopefully contain spending reforms and cuts to tackle America’s deficit crisis.

Although the package has changed since the original draft, the bill would likely save trillions of dollars over the next ten years. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found that the original draft would save $4.8 trillion over the next ten years.

Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT) and Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), two stalwart fiscal conservatives, wrote an op-ed for Fox News on Wednesday, urging colleagues to back the Limit, Save, Grow Act.

They wrote:

The House Republican plan takes direct aim at President Biden’s executive overreach. The plan will return $90.5 billion in unspent COVID money and repeal the $80 billion Democrats approved for their IRS army and the trillions of dollars in Green New Deal credits that will put Americans out of work by driving innovation and production down with burdensome and costly regulation.

The Republican plan saves taxpayer money by ending the more than $100 billion in wasteful spending, identified by members of the House Freedom Caucus, led by Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), which offers almost nothing to American taxpayers – like green projects that attack our energy sector or expanding agencies to weaponize them against anyone who disagrees with the leftist agenda.

Importantly, the House Republican plan follows the lead of the Let’s Get to Work Act and places real work requirements on federal programs that encourage employment. With more Americans working, our economy will benefit and our society will be far more productive.

They added, “The Republican plan moves America in the right direction. It is fiscally responsible, and, best of all, truly reflects how the American people want their government to run.”