House Republican leaders are dismissing the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) latest projection that says the debt limit deal struck by President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., would actually increase the number of people eligible for federal benefits.
Tightening access to SNAP and other benefit programs has been touted as a key victory touted by Republican negotiators, part of their overall demand to slash spending in exchange for raising the federal borrowing limit.
The bill would raise the upper age limit of single American adults who must fulfill work requirements to get SNAP from 49 to 54, while providing exemptions for the homeless, veterans and young people aging out of the foster care system.
MCCARTHY-BIDEN DEBT CEILING DEAL PASSES BIG PROCEDURAL HURDLE IN HOUSE
US Representative Patrick McHenry (C) speaks following a meeting on the Fiscal Responsibility Act in the House Visitors Center Studio of the US Capitol in Washington, DC on May 30, 2023. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Late on Tuesday, the CBO released an updated score of the bill, The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, which said that the proposed changes would actually expand the net eligibility to SNAP by roughly 78,000 people – or about 0.2%.
“The simple answer is the CBO got it wrong,” House Financial Services Chair Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., said at a late night press conference. “These populations are already included. And most states, under the 12% cap that they currently have, which says even if they have all these currently excluded populations, that are not required to be in work or seeking work, they can have up to 12% of their population exempted. We reduced that number down to eight.”
Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., similarly criticized the projection as “wrong” and claimed the CBO did not add up its figures correctly.
GOP TOUTS MCCARTHY-BIDEN DEAL AS ‘CONSERVATIVE’ VICTORY AS SOME REPUBLICANS DEFECT
US Representative Glenn Thompson (C) speaks following a meeting on the Fiscal Responsibility Act in the House Visitors Center Studio of the US Capitol in Washington, DC on May 30, 2023. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
