On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) claimed that Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) proposal for an extension to the nation’s debt ceiling until May 2024 was a “terrible idea.” He added that the Democrats were not interested in having to debate the issue of the debt ceiling again right before the next election.
On Monday during a speech at the New York Stock Exchange, McCarthy introduced his plan for lifting the debt ceiling for one year in exchange for putting a cap on nondefense discretionary spending. Schumer was quick to dismiss McCarthy’s plan and stated that if this is the direction that the Speaker wanted to take then the country would end up going into default.
Schumer said that one of the problems of McCarthy’s “terrible idea” was that they would need to go through the same crisis over and over again, which is not something that anyone wants. Schumer also added that he and President Biden are willing to negotiate with McCarthy when McCarthy comes up with a detailed plan for cutting spending that would win the 218 votes necessary to pass the House. He added that fiscal reforms should not be a part of debt limit discussions but rather a part of budget discussions.
He also alleged that McCarthy’s latest proposal was just a regurgitation of the same “recycled pile” that “he’s been saying for months, none of which has moved the ball forward an inch.”
