217 House Republicans pass debt ceiling bill with harmful cuts

A wide range of advocacy groups and Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday fiercely denounced Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives for narrowly passing their “debt ceiling scam” containing “extreme, harmful cuts against average Americans to protect billionaire tax breaks.”

The so-called the Limit, Save, Grow Act was unveiled last week by GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) and passed 217-215, with just four Republicans—Reps. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Ken Buck (Colo.), Tim Burchett (Tenn.), and Matt Gaetz (Fla.)—joining Democratic opponents and three lawmakers not voting.

Although the House GOP bill would raise the federal government’s arbitrary borrowing limit, averting a first-ever default that would be catastrophic for the U.S. and global economies, the legislation would also cap spending over the next decade, impose fossil fuel-friendly energy policies, restrict regulations, add work requirements for social programs, block President Joe Biden’s contested student debt relief plan, and repeal Internal Revenue Service (IRS) funds intended to reduce tax-dodging.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has already said the bill is “dead on arrival” in the upper chamber and Biden has also slammed Republicans’ attempted cuts, but given the risks of both the proposal and a potential default, critics still shared their outrage over the vote.

“Nearly every Republican in the U.S. House just voted to slash the already inadequate funding of the Social Security Administration (SSA),” said Social Security Works executive director Alex Lawson in a statement.

“Cuts to SSA are cuts to Social Security, and we will hold every single one of these members accountable,” he added. “This vote shows that Republicans are united in support of cutting Social Security, while Democrats are united in support of a clean debt limit increase with no cuts to Social Security or any other benefits.”

Also noting that the “dangerous” bill includes SSA cuts, which would force office closures and layoffs, delaying services for seniors, Alliance for Retired Americans executive director Richard Fiesta asserted that “a political party’s budget reflects its values, and clearly the GOP does not value older Americans.”

“The bill also slashes food assistance for more than 1 million low-income seniors—many of whom rely on government food programs to get their only meal of the day,” he said. “It will cut oversight of nursing homes, putting thousands of the most vulnerable seniors at risk of living in alarming and unsanitary conditions. This is reckless and irresponsible.”

“In addition, this bill jeopardizes millions of Americans’ multiemployer pensions that are guaranteed by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation,” Fiesta continued. “Finally, it would lead to the eviction of at least 430,000 low-income families from Section 8 housing, 80% of which are headed by seniors.”

Leading up to the vote, the bill’s opponents have pointed out that while House Republicans claim cuts are necessary for any bill that allows additional debt, in 2017, GOP lawmakers passed and then-President Donald Trump signed a law to provide corporations and rich individuals with tax breaks, which the Congressional Budget Office estimated would increase the federal deficit by nearly $2 trillion over a decade.

Democrats in both chambers of Congress on Wednesday renewed demands for raising the debt limit without any attached policies.

“Republicans just passed a bill that would kill jobs, take away federal benefits for millions, and make everyday life for Americans more expensive. This is completely unworkable,” said Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.). “Let’s pass a clean debt ceiling increase.”

Originally published at Commondreams.org.