Of THE ORDER OF PATRON OF HUSBANDRY
AMERICAN VALUES, HOMETOWN ROOTS
NATIONAL GRANGE
Of THE ORDER OF PATRON OF HUSBANDRY
AMERICAN VALUES, HOMETOWN ROOTS
View from the Hill
Policy updates and Issue News
April 2023 Wrap-Up
Washington Overview: Debt Ceiling Fight Moves Forward
In April, House Republicans offered their first concrete proposal to address the imminent debt ceiling default. The Republican proposal comes in the form of the Limit, Save, and Grow Act, which passed the House this past week. The Act would first address the debt limit default by waiving the debt limit through March 31st, 2024, or until a $1.5 trillion increase in federal spending occurs, whichever comes sooner. In exchange for raising the debt limit, the proposal includes a variety of Republican legislative priorties which would total a decrease in federal spending of an estimated $4.5 trillion over the next ten years. This decrease in spending would come from a reset of federal discretionary spending levels to fiscal year 2022, a 1% cap in discretionary spending increases over the next ten years, and a variety of targeted spending cuts.
Targeted spending cuts included in the bill represent a wide range of Republican policy priorities. To start, the bill would rescind an estimated $100 million in unspent COVID funding and prevent President Biden’s loan forgiveness executive orders form going into effect. The bill also repeals a variety of clean energy tax credits which were passed last year as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. As well, the removal of these tax credits would increase the deficit, though they are offset by wider spending decreases. Futhermore, the bill would remove increased fuding for staffing at the IRS, which would similarly increase the deficit, not decrease it Finally, the bill would increase work requirements for many federal welfare programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Proposals effecting SNAP could dramatically change dynamics surrounding this year’s Farm Bill debates, where nutrition assistance programs are likely to be a hot topic.
Beyond spending cuts, the Republican proposal also includes several elememts of the Regulations from the Exective Need Scrutiny (REINS)Act, a long-time conservative priority, and other legislative changes. The REINS Act would target executive branch authorities by requiring that any new regulation which would have an annual effect on the ecomomy of $100 million or more would have to be approved by both the House and the Senate before it could go into effect. This would represent a dramatic shift in the balance of power between the executive and legislative branches which has not been seen for decades. As well, other legislative priorities attached to the debt limit increase include proposals to increase domestic oil and gas production and streamlined permitting reform for a variety of infrastructure projects, both of which would increas the deficit
While the bill has passed the House, this is just a first offering from Congressional Republicans and many of the key elements of the bill are nonstarters for the Demorcratic Senate and White House. However, with both Republican and Democratic parameters for a debt ceiling increase established, negotiations between the two sides can begin to move towards a compromise.