United States President Joe Biden demands House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to explain the Republican Party's proposed budget cuts as negotiations continue to raise the country's debt ceiling.
Furthermore, the Democratic leader is expected to release his proposed budget on March 9, said the White House on Tuesday. The announcement sets a deadline before he meets with the Republican House Speaker on Wednesday to discuss the nation's spending plans.
Discussions About Debt Ceiling
According to a White House memo, Biden is set to ask McCarthy to release a budget plan during the meeting and to commit to the country's debt obligations. The House Speaker and his fellow conservatives are threatening to block a regular increase of the country's debt limit if Biden does not lower spending.
The president said that any negotiation regarding previously approved U.S. spending, which is generally supported on a bipartisan basis, will not happen. Furthermore, the GOP has not yet agreed on how fiscal spending should be reduced or firmed up the parameters of the budget for 2023, as per Reuters.
The White House has also seized on the lack of consensus of the Republican Party to highlight fringe proposals from some GOP members. This includes one that abolishes the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in exchange for a higher sales tax and another that reduces Social Security retirement benefits.
On Monday, Biden was asked what his message would be for the Republican House Speaker, to which he answered, "Show me your budget, I'll show you mine." In response, McCarthy warned the Democratic president not to rule out negotiations before meeting at the White House.
The House Speaker said on Tuesday that the first thing that members of the Democratic Party should do, especially Biden, was to say that he is willing to sit down and find common ground and negotiate.
Releasing an Official Budget
The director of the National Economic Council, Brian Deese, and the director of the Office of Management and Budget, said that McCarthy should commit to releasing a budget. They argued that this was so that the American people could see how House Republicans plan to reduce the country's deficit, according to the New York Times.
Several economists have warned that if the American government does not raise the debt ceiling, the country could experience a financial crisis and recession. However, the GOP has not listed any specific demands for them to agree to raise the debt ceiling, nor have they released an official budget.
During an interview on Sunday, McCarthy said that he was aware that Biden did not want to have any discussions about raising the debt ceiling. However, he argued that it was important for the United States government to find a compromise.
Earlier this month, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that any attempts to exploit the country's debt ceiling as leverage would fail. She noted that there would be no "hostage taking." However, last month, the Republican House Speaker made it clear that he was holding firm on his stance regarding the issue, said ABC News.
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