House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has revealed that he and President Joe Biden will meet this Wednesday to discuss how the government will address the debt ceiling limit.
McCarthy’s announcement comes after the debt ceiling reached its limit on Jan. 19, with House Republicans aiming to cut down on spending to address the situation. The debt ceiling was “one of the first things” McCarthy discussed with Biden when the president congratulated him on becoming speaker, McCarthy said during an appearance on CBS’s Face the Nation.
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“I want to find a reasonable and a responsible way that we can lift the debt ceiling, but take control of this runaway spending,” McCarthy said. “If you look at the last four years, the Democrats have increased spending by 30%, $400 billion. We’re at 120% of GDP. We haven’t been in this place to debt since World War II, so we can’t continue down this path.”
McCarthy assured that Medicare and Social Security would not experience any reductions from the House, saying they are both “off the table.” The California Republican also intends to make sure the United States’s defense spending is protected, but also wants to “look at every dollar no matter where it’s being spent.”
When asked if Congress would support a debt limit extension from June to September of this year, McCarthy failed to give a direct answer. Instead, McCarthy said he would “rather sit down with the president” and “have those discussions.”
“The one thing I do know is, we cannot continue the waste that’s happening, to continue to spend more money and leverage the debt of the future of America,” McCarthy said. “We’ve got to get to a balanced budget.”
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The Biden administration is trying to pressure House Republicans to raise the debt ceiling as soon as possible. The House GOP, however, is trying to enact sharp spending cuts to address the debt ceiling.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated on Sunday she believes “we would have recession in the United States” if Congress does not raise the nation’s debt ceiling this summer, saying the situation “would be devastating.”
