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Congress races to pass debt ceiling bill ahead of Monday deadline

by Mychael Schnell

The House and Senate this week will have to race to pass a debt ceiling bill to avoid a default after President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) struck an agreement in principle over the weekend to increase the borrowing limit.

The fast-dash to approve the legislation comes as lawmakers are staring down a Monday deadline, after Treasury Department Secretary Janet Yellen has said the U.S. could run out of cash to pay its bills by that day.

The bill will face its first legislative hurdle Tuesday, when the House Rules Committee holds a vote on the rule dictating debate over the measure. If the panel advances the measure, GOP leadership is aiming to bring it to the floor for a vote Wednesday, with the next stop being the Senate.

In the leadup to the House vote, however, Republican and Democratic leadership has to shore up support within their parties, as both conservatives and liberals voice concerns with the legislation.

Also this week, the House is set to vote on a resolution condemning the rise in antisemitism, and a number of Senate committees are scheduled to hold hearings.


House to consider debt limit bill Wednesday

The House will officially start considering the debt limit bill Tuesday, when the House Rules Committee holds a vote on the rule dictating debate over the measure.

The Rules Committee vote will be the first hurdle the debt limit bill faces as conservatives — including two on the panel — come out against the measure.

Votes in the Rules Committee are typically party-line, but Tuesday’s could be different. GOP Reps. Chip Roy (Texas) and Ralph Norman (S.C.) both sit on the panel and have spoken out against the deal. They are unhappy that the legislation did not go further.

If Roy and Norman join all Democrats in voting against the rule — it is customary for Democrats to oppose rules — Republicans would still be able to advance the rule with one vote to spare. But if Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) — another conservative — and Roy and Norman all vote against the rule with Democrats, the bill could be blocked.

On Monday, Roy said that during the drawn-out Speaker’s race in January, McCarthy promised conservatives that he would not allow bills to advance out of the Rules Committee “without AT LEAST 7 GOP votes — AND that the Committee would not allow reporting out rules without unanimous Republican votes.”

Asked about that statement later in the day, however, Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.), who played a role in negotiations during the Speaker’s race, deflected.

“I’ll just say succinctly that we control the Rules Committee, and we would like our rules to come to the floor with the majority of Republican votes,” Hill said during a press call.

McCarthy told reporters in the Capitol on Monday that he is not concerned about the Rules Committee hearing.

If the rule does pass and the debt limit bill advances to the floor, Republican and Democratic leadership will need to whip up support for the legislation.

A number of conservatives have said the bill does not go far enough — Norman called it “insanity” — while some liberals have voiced concerns that the measure gives away too much to Republicans.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), the chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told CNN on Sunday that Democratic leadership should be concerned about whether or not her group will support the deal.

“Yes, they have to worry,” she said.

There have, however, been some positive signs for the whipping operation on both sides of the aisle. Business groups including the National Association of Manufacturers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce issued statements calling on Congress to pass the measure, and the leadership team for the center-left New Democrats Coalition — which is made up of nearly 100 Democrats — called for its immediate passage.

Senate also takes up debt ceiling bill

The debt limit bill will cross to the Senate after it clears the House to receive one more stamp of approval before it heads to Biden’s desk for his signature.

But the exact timeline for Senate consideration remains up in the air.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) last week vowed to “use every procedural tool” at his disposal “to impede a debt-ceiling deal” that does not have “substantial spending and budgetary reforms.”

“I fear things are moving in that direction. If they do, that proposal will not face smooth sailing in the Senate,” Lee added on Twitter.

On Monday, he said the bill had “problems,” and that “The House Rules Committee should reject this deal.”

And Republican opposition to the bill in the Senate does not appear to stop at Lee. On Sunday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said he had “More questions than answers about the proposed debt limit deal,” zeroing in on defense spending.

Senate aides have said Republicans can drag out floor debate for the debt limit bill for six or seven days.

That timeline would put the Senate right against or past the Monday deadline, placing pressure on lawmakers to avoid the country’s first-ever default.

Over the weekend, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) warned Democrats that the chamber could be in session Friday and over the weekend to continue consideration of the bill.

“When the bill passes the House, I will move to immediately begin consideration of the agreement in the Senate. Due to the time it may take to process the legislation in the Senate without cooperation, Senators should prepare for potential Friday and weekend votes,” Schumer wrote in a letter to his colleagues.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), for his part, endorsed the legislation, writing in a statement Sunday that “The Senate must act swiftly and pass this agreement without unnecessary delay.”

House to vote on antisemitism resolution

The House on Monday is also set to vote on a resolution condemning the rise of antisemitism, as the country closes out Jewish American Heritage Month, which falls in May.

The resolution — which has nearly 100 co-sponsors from both parties — calls for “condemning the rise of antisemitism and calling on elected officials to identify and educate others on the contributions of the Jewish American community.”

It also urges elected officials and faith and civil society leaders “to condemn and combat any and all acts of antisemitism,” and says the House will take “all possible steps to ensure the safety and security of Jewish American communities.”

Additionally, the legislation “calls on the Executive Branch and civic leaders to identify and educate the public on the contributions of the Jewish American community.”

Antisemitic incidents in the U.S. rose to an all-time recorded high in 2022, according to the Anti-Defamation League, jumping 26 percent from the previous year, which had also set a record. The organization’s Audit of Antisemitic Incidents recorded a total of 3,697 incidents throughout the U.S. last year, including vandalism and assault.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), the lead sponsor of the resolution, said it marks the first bipartisan, bicameral Jewish American Heritage Month resolution recognizing the contributions of Jewish Americans in the U.S.

Hearings

Senate Judiciary Committee: “From Farm to Table: Immigrant Workers Get the Job Done”

Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: “Countering China: Advancing U.S. National Security, Economic Security, and Foreign Policy”

Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions: “Solving the Child Care Crisis: Meeting the Needs of Working Families and Child Care Workers”

Senate Foreign Relations Committee: “Accountability for Russian Atrocities in Ukraine”

Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Full Committee Hearing to Examine the Reliability and Resiliency of Electric Services in the U.S. in Light of Recent Reliability Assessments and Alerts

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