Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) blamed Joe Biden for negotiations over the debt ceiling stalling, telling reporters on Wednesday that the president has not reached out for an additional meeting to further talks since they met last month.
McCarthy’s comments follow a House briefing with Congressional Budget Office Director Phillip Swagel the speaker convened on Wednesday, just one day before the White House is slated to unveil Biden’s budget blueprint.
“No, he hasn’t reached back out. He told me once that he would. I believe eventually he will, but that’s a month wasted. That’s a month that brings more doubt financially; that’s a month that hurts Americans. The sooner we get together, the better off all America will be, so I’m looking forward to him being willing to sit down and be able to move this forward,” McCarthy said.
Conservatives have been adamant that they will not support the clean debt ceiling hike the White House and congressional Democrats have demanded, calling for spending cuts to be included in any type of agreement.
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“You know, [Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer [D-NY] says we should just pass a clean hike. He can’t pass a clean debt ceiling to the Senate. So, every day he wastes on this process too — so if the president’s willing, we had a good discussion that day, I believe we could find common ground. It won’t be new taxes,” McCarthy said.
“But I think we could find ways to grow this economy. It helps as well to the No. 1 way that you can actually combat inflation is become energy independent, lower the energy costs — it creates more jobs, lets people keep more of what they’ve learned, and also will help us in not just growing the economy, but if we control our spending, it’ll also help inflation,” he added. “Raising taxes in a low-growth economy like this will only hurt us more and put us into recession.”
Biden’s budget is set to propose tax increases on earners making more than $400,000 in a bid to shore up Medicare and, by the White House’s calculations, would reduce the budget deficit.
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“We’ll analyze his budget, and then we’ll get to work on our budget,” the speaker said. “But, unfortunately, the president being so far delayed delays us in this process as well.”
