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McCarthy ally defends debt ceiling deal, says he's confident it'll pass

Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) on Sunday praised the deal in principle struck by President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to raise the debt ceiling and cap spending, adding that he is confident the bill will have the necessary votes to pass.

“I feel confident that we’ll have those votes after people review the text, talk with their colleagues, compare it to our goals. Speaker McCarthy is the only person who has demonstrated urgency on this point, starting when he was sworn in and starting with his first meeting with President Biden, to get to a sensible and responsible increase to the debt ceiling,” Hill, a McCarthy ally, told Margaret Brennan on CBS’s “Face The Nation.”  

“He had two red lines, Margaret: No tax increase and not a clean debt ceiling, and I think he’s achieved that,” Hill said of McCarthy. 

The deal, which McCarthy and Biden announced Saturday night, would raise the debt ceiling for two years and cap some spending in order to avert a national default. Hill said on CBS that the non-defense, non-veteran spending will be kept at fiscal year 2022 levels, and defense and veteran spending will be kept at fiscal year 2023 levels. He also touted a provision providing incentives to pass all 12 appropriations bills by September 30.

Hill additionally argued the core of the GOP-led, House-passed budget bill in April is reflected in the agreement announced Saturday night, and said “I believe it will,” when pressed on whether the vote would pass on its first vote.

“Each of the components we had in the bill on the 26th is reflected in this negotiated deal in principle that the Speaker achieved with President Biden, and that’s why I believe that we’ll have those votes on Wednesday because we limit the rate of growth, we cut spending, we claw back unneeded spending and recisions, we stop unnecessary spending, and we get our economy growing with regulatory relief and by encouraging more people back to work,” Hill said. 

Asked about statements from Rep. Chip Roy (R-Tex.) and others in the conservative House Freedom Caucus pledging to try to block the bill, Hill dismissed those concerns, saying, “Okay, well, they need to read the text and visit with their colleagues.”

“I’m one of those people that wanted bigger reductions, but I also recognize we control only the House of Representatives. We’ve got to get it through the Senate, as you note, and the Biden administration controls the central government here,” he said.

“This is the world we have. It’s not the spending cuts I would prefer. But when you look at [pay-as-you-go] on regulatory costs, that’s a big change,” he added. “So I think we’re in the absolute right direction and it absolutely follows the goals of House Republicans as laid out on April 26.”


Source: The Hill

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