Biden, Republicans make little progress on debt ceiling as default nears

The 118th Congress is approaching its 100 day mark. So far, it hasn’t made much, if any, progress on its two most important responsibilities: the debt ceiling and the budget.

The United States government hit the debt ceiling, or the maximum amount of money it’s allowed to borrow to pay bills, on Jan. 19. The Treasury Department is taking what it describes as “extraordinary measures” to avoid a default, but that will only last until June or July. Congress must increase the debt limit before that.

Democrats want a clean debt limit increase, where they let the Treasury borrow more money without any strings attached. Republicans want a debt increase to coincide with spending cuts.

“In the next 10 years Americans will pay $10.5 trillion just on the interest on our debt. Now to put that into perspective, since 1944 until today, Americans have paid only $9 trillion in interest,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said after a recent meeting with the Congressional Budget Office.

Republicans said they want to negotiate with Democrats and President Biden to reach a bipartisan solution. But House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said he doesn’t see a clear path forward because Republicans have not released a budget proposal, while Democrats support the plan the president released March 9.

“The Republican budget plan is in the witness protection program. It’s in an undisclosed location. The extreme MAGA Republicans are hiding their plans from the American people. In that kind of situation, how can we reasonably have a conversation?” Rep. Jeffries said.

But while there’s a great deal to do on finances, Congress has had a couple bipartisan victories in its opening months. Lawmakers unanimously approved a new law to declassify information related to COVID-19’s origins. President Biden signed it and the information should be made public within the next 90 days. They also overturned the Washington, D.C., crime bill which would have lowered penalties for serious felonies like carjackings.

Along party lines, House Republicans are happy they passed the Parental Bill of Rights, which allows parents to get more information about their child’s school curriculum and the books in the school library. But Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said it will face a dead end in his chamber. Senate Democrats, meanwhile, want to continue confirming President Biden’s judicial nominees at a record pace.