White House knocks last-minute changes to GOP debt bill: 'Selling out hard-working Americans’
The White House on Wednesday bashed House Republicans for last-minute changes to their debt limit bill, accusing them of "selling out" working Americans.
“House Republicans are selling out hard-working Americans in order to defend their top priority: restoring the Trump tax cuts for the wealthiest and corporations at a cost of over $3 trillion,” White House communications director Ben LaBolt said in a statement.
“President Biden will never sacrifice opportunity and economic security for working and middle-class families in order to pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest and corporations. Budgets are a statement of values — and House Republicans have made clear who they are fighting for,” he added.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) made changes to the debt ceiling bill this week, bowing to pressure from Midwestern Republicans upset over the elimination of biofuel tax credits and conservatives who wanted to tie tougher work requirements to public assistance programs.
The GOP leader is expected to bring the bill, which pairs proposed spending cuts with a debt ceiling increase, to the floor as soon as Wednesday — but it’s unclear if it has the votes to pass.
Biden on Tuesday threatened to veto the bill if it makes it to his desk.
The White House has lambasted the GOP proposal amid broader debate over raising the debt ceiling ahead of a looming deadline this year. LaBolt took further aim at McCarthy on Wednesday, arguing he “cut a deal with the most extreme MAGA elements of his party.”
The Biden aide characterized the deal as an effort “to accelerate taking food assistance from hundreds of thousands of older Americans and to carve out one industry from his draconian cuts without making a single change to provisions that will strip away health care services for veterans, cut access to Meals on Wheels, eliminate health care coverage for millions of Americans, and ship manufacturing jobs overseas.”
A manager’s amendment released during a House Rules Committee hearing that lasted into the early hours of Wednesday morning scrapped provisions that would have eliminated tax credits for biofuels. Those tax credits were part of Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act, one of Biden’s signature accomplishments.
Additionally, after hardline Republicans wanted faster implementation of work requirements for assistance programs, a manager’s amendment moved up implementation of work requirements for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) from fiscal 2025 to fiscal 2024.