Washington
CNN
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House Republican leaders are going behind the scenes to get their conference behind a plan that would extend the debt ceiling for a year along with several cuts and raise revenue, a move aimed at making their negotiations with the White House high-stakes. The position is to strengthen. obstacle
According to GOP sources involved, the goal is to put a bill on the House floor as soon as May that could pass the narrowly divided chamber and send a clear signal to President Joe Biden that he wants to raise the debt ceiling. There must be strings attached to any law. conversation
There is no official estimate yet of the amount of cuts and revenue raisers Republicans are seeking, but one source said the goal is to find budget savings of $3 trillion to $4 trillion over 10 years.
During the two-week recess, top House Republicans are talking to their rank-and-file members to agree on a plan that would be developed by the GOP’s so-called Five Families, representing different ideological wings of the conference. is under
Republicans have yet to unite on the emerging plan, with a source familiar with the talks saying some of the more conservative members have pushed for other measures — such as tougher border security measures and the repeal of green energy tax credits — and some more. Moderate members have expressed concerns over proposed changes to Medicaid.
But GOP lawmakers have called the talks productive and hope internal discussions on the Republican-led plan, which continue Sunday, will intensify when lawmakers return to Washington this week after recess. .
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy plans to set the tone on the GOP’s demands with a speech Monday in New York. The California Republican previewed his message during a Sunday call with his conference, a source familiar with the matter told CNN.
It’s not yet clear if the country could potentially face its first-ever default if the debt ceiling is not raised, but it could happen as late as this summer or as early as fall — something that There may be an economic impact. White House and Senate Democrats have said the debt ceiling should be approved without conditions and have challenged Republicans to come up with a plan if they won’t move forward on clean increases.
Even if House Republicans can pass their plan, it has no chance of passing the Democratic-led Senate. But House GOP leaders believe passing their own bill would force the White House to negotiate a package of spending cuts in exchange for raising the debt ceiling.
Among the provisions under consideration in the GOP plan is to bring domestic discretionary spending back to fiscal 2022 levels, something that would spare the Pentagon’s budget. Republicans are also seeking to cancel funding for some programs designed to provide Covid-19 relief, and they want to implement new work requirements for Medicaid beneficiaries under 60 and without dependents.
Republicans are also considering changing the federal regulatory process by giving Congress new power to overturn regulations imposed by the administration. Also, the GOP believes it can raise new revenue through provisions that would speed it up to green-light large energy projects. And they are weighing a 2% cut in federal spending when Congress passes a stop-gap resolution to keep funding the government.
A senior GOP source said the reception so far has been mostly positive.
“I think we can get there,” the source said.
This story has been updated with additional information.
