(PartiallyPolitics.com) – On Wednesday, House Republicans passed their “Limit, Save, Grow Act” plan which details all their intended actions that will need to be taken before they agree to an increase in the federal debt limit through March 31, 2024, or until the debt increases by $1.5 trillion.
The bill was passed 217-215 along party lines and had been the result of weeks of negotiations within the Republican party. Speaker Kevin McCarthy had to navigate the different factions of his own party, some of whom argued that the proposal was going too far in certain areas, while others thought it could go further. During the vote, four Republicans broke away from the party and voted against the measure.
McCarthy has spent the past few months trying to get President Joe Biden to negotiate with him a plan that would allow them to cut close to a $31.5 trillion federal deficit in exchange for the GOP agreeing to increase the debt limit.
Democratic lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, had previously called for the Republican party to reveal what their plan is. During his speech on the Senate floor on Wednesday, Schumer claimed that the measures presented by the Republicans were “extreme” and they did not belong in “a debate about avoiding default.” He then urged McCarthy to stop “wasting any more time” especially as Congress is running out of time to prevent this “catastrophe.”
The Republican’s plan would require that federal spending is cut to last year’s levels, while also setting a capped 1 percent annual increase in spending for the next decade.
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