‘Reckless’: Biden veto threat looms over GOP debt ceiling bill, White House says

The White House on Tuesday slammed a GOP proposal in the House to pair a debt limit increase with government spending cuts, vowing that President Biden would veto the measure if it made it to his desk.

In a Statement of Administration Policy, the White House called the House Republican bill “a reckless attempt to extract extreme concessions as a condition for the United States simply paying the bills it has already incurred.”

“The President has been clear that he will not accept such attempts at hostage-taking,” the White House said. “House Republicans must take default off the table and address the debt limit without demands and conditions, just as the Congress did three times during the prior Administration.”

The legislation — dubbed the Limit, Save, Grow Act — would cap government funding hashed out by lawmakers annually as part of the appropriations process at fiscal 2022 levels, a move Democrats warn could amount to steep cuts to popular programs.

The measure would also limit spending growth to 1 percent annually over the next decade with a slew of other proposals aimed at curbing spending, including rolling back several Biden administration actions on student loans and beefing up work requirements for government assistance programs.

“Altogether, this legislation would not only risk default, recession, widespread job loss, and years of higher interest rates, but also make devastating cuts to programs that hard-working Americans and the middle-class count on,” the White House said Tuesday. 

Biden and White House officials have been adamant that Congress should vote to raise the debt limit, which covers spending the U.S. government has already approved, without conditions, pointing to decades of precedent. The president has indicated he’d be willing to hold separate talks with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) over government spending.

Republican leaders have promised the bill will get a floor vote this week, but it’s unclear if McCarthy has the necessary 218 votes. Republicans hold only a four-seat majority in the House, providing a narrow path for passage. The bill is unlikely to gain traction in the Senate, where Democrats hold a 51-49 majority.