The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.
© Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.House OKs debt ceiling bill to avoid default; sends Biden-McCarthy deal to Senate
By LISA MASCARO, KEVIN FREKING, STEPHEN GROVES and FARNOUSH AMIRI WASHINGTON©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
104 Comments
EFD
So much for the cheap whine (and processed cheese) of the FREEDUMB Caucus.
No that financial Armageddon is off the table, with the border more or less under control, and all the other disasters that the GQP were openly hoping for have not come to pass, what will the GQP run on now?
What is their next manufactured crisis to give the appearance of not being a cult rather than a responsible political party?
Blacklabel
Exactly what it is. So why most all the Dems voted against Biden’s deal?
Yrral
Republicans politicians are toxic
theResident
@Blacklabel - how is 48 out of 213 most? Sorry, have I lost all my math ability?
Clay
Inflation's BIG problem, Govt. spending cuts to help in fight, interest rates not enough, thus inflation adjusted Govt. discretionary spending falling, more so on per capital basis.
Keep in mind huge non-discretionary programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, all adjusted for inflation, e.g. 8.7% for 70M retirees this year. Interest costs on debt servicing also exploding due to higher rates. These programs now heading towards insolvency MUCH faster due to COLA/inflation, so huge cuts coming to all beneficiaries.
Social Security projected insolvency and automatic beneficiary cuts was 2034 two years ago, now it's 2029, ditto for other healthcare programs.
lincolnman
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-debt-ceiling-bill-faces-narrow-path-passage-house-2023-05-31/
And there you have it - McCarthy couldn't convince enough Repubs to pass HIS bill so Dems had to come to the rescue - of McCarthy.....ROFL...
What's even more hilarious...hard-line Repubs calling Biden "senile" but then saying he also "outsmarted" them....
https://news.yahoo.com/calling-joe-biden-senile-republicans-145600231.html
Chalk up another MAGA loss...
apeman
Exactly what it is. So why most all the Dems voted against Biden’s deal?
Perhaps you didn't read the vote count:
Republicans Yat 149, Nay 71
Democrats: Yay 165, Nay 46
TaiwanIsNotChina
Guess it is better than default. RIP my finances.
EFD
What are a few inconvenient facts when one is trying desperately to spin an ass-kicking that Kevin got as something else?
lincolnman
And the McCarthy-MAGA-mutiny starts...
*Ahead of Wednesday’s vote, the hard right flank of the party didn’t hold back in spelling out the poor state of things. Asked by The Daily Beast if the deal would create long-term distrust between McCarthy and conservatives, Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC)—perhaps the Speaker’s most dogged critic this week—paused for a long time.*
*“He’s blown Republican unity to smithereens,”** Bishop finally said. “So, you can put that in terms of trust, if you want to. It’s just something that is functionally destroyed.”*
*Pressed on whether he’d back a maneuver to oust McCarthy, *Bishop didn’t rule it out.
*“The important thing is how the Republican Party operates to serve the American people. And whether we do so in a unified fashion requires unity,” he said. “Unity has to be cultivated, forged, and then preserved… *the responsibility for preservation falls to the Speaker, and he has utterly failed in that.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/kevin-mccarthy-s-gop-critics-say-he-ll-be-the-one-to-pay-for-the-debt-deal/ar-AA1bY276?cvid=db72037fdb52493eb1b04413776c404c&ei=12
It looks like Dems will have to rescue Kevin again - to save his speakership...
What do the MAGA-faithful here think about that?
UChosePoorly
Who told you that they did?
lincolnman
I thought this bill passing was the big news today...but it's been way overshadowed....
Trump has been caught on tape admitting he has classified information that he shouldn't have and that he can't share it with other people....
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-tape-sensitive-documents-white-house_n_6477e00ee4b0a7554f4264f2
All the while he is on record saying he was allowed to take it and share it (he wasn't), then saying he declassified it by executive order (he didn't), then saying he declassified it "by thought" (that's crazy), then finally saying he didn't take any classified, just empty folders (which given the tape is another lie)...
History repeats itself - especially when it comes to Republican Presidents; tapes took down Nixon, tapes will take down Trump too...
Blacklabel
“Kevin’s” bill must be super great if even that many Dems voted for it plus the Big Guy’s support in the White House.
yay deal!
wallace
29 Republicans voted against it.
Blacklabel
His bill passed. What ass kicking?
yep he could have held out for even more than he got, I agree with them.
UChosePoorly
It's a deal. Neither side got everything they wanted and had to compromise. Nothing wrong with compromise, right? In a nation as large as ours, compromises are necessary if we don't want to deadlock, default on our obligations, or shut the government down. I am glad the two parties could come together and I hope to see more bipartisan deals going forward.
wallace
Out of 213 Democrats 161 voted against it and 52 in favor. 222 Republicans. 193 voted for, and 29 against.
bass4funk
Dems are nuclear
Superlib
I'm just happy the Freedom Caucus had their "power" greatly diminished. That's good news for the majority in America.
EFD
He said he wasn't going to raise the debt ceiling without large cuts.
First it was to SSC and Medicare under the guise of "entitlement reform" until Joe owned the entire GQP screamer caucus on live TV at the SOTU.
Then it was social spending that they were demanding 22% to (according to some scoring) 30% cuts.
Cut all the IRS funding increases (because what's a little tax fraud among QAnon followers, eh?)
Cut the Inflation Reduction Act.
Cut the Environmental regs.
Institute work requirements for social benefits (because they are all lazy slackers, right?)
And he got NONE of those things.
First of all, the debt limit is not raised, it is ignored for 2 years until after the next election so the loons in the QAnon caucus cannot use it in the next election.
Spending is flat for 1 year in non-defense and veterans taking a govt. shutdown off the table.
70 of the 80 billion for the IRS stays (I guess catching tax cheats is actually in the public interest. Sorry Don....)
The Inflation Reduction Act is untouched.
Evironmental Regs are MOSTLY untouched. (Manchin gets his pipeline and honestly big deal.)
And the work requirements go from 49 to 54 years old BUT exemptions for vets and homeless will actually EXPAND access to benefits.
So Kevin got rolled.
THAT ass-kicking.
And if you don't believe me, listen to his fake grin explanations and the absolute HOWLING for the FREEDUMB Caucus.
It was an ass kicking given to the Hair by Sleppy Joe, the guy who can't put two words together according to his detractors.
So either they are wrong and he actually is rather good at this whole governing thing, OR...
The Hair and his merry band of morons are even stupider and less competent.
Neither is much of a look for the GQP as a governing party.
bass4funk
Better than nothing, at least it puts a cap on Biden’s spending for two years, so that’s a good thing. Elimination of the EPA and Department of Education would be a huge gain for the USA in so many ways, and it would easily balance the existing budget.The winners from this budget deal: corrupt and wasteful government officials and ChinaThe losers from this budget deal: the taxpayers of the USA
Mat
So, America owes 31 trillion dollars to.... someone/where/thing ? Do I read that right? How is this a good thing? How is this even possible?
Clay
Inflation's the reason for US Govt. belt tightening. As i wrote above, COLA increases to giant non-discretionary programs and debt servicing costs are skyrocketing.
Meanwhile US tax revenues are falling as more companies struggle with financing costs, report lower profits and of course bankruptcies WAY up this year vs. last year etc.
US Tax revenues to just keep up with inflation should be up +5%, not (3%) negative for Q4 and Q1 this year, while expenditures +11% = Inflationary Catalyst & NOT Sustainable.
US and especially EU real private sector economy, shrinking, high inflation, huge defense spending, etc. No surprise current leadership so unpopular in polling, trending down etc.
wallace
bass4funk
You previously said you wanted the Bill to fail. Did you change?
bass4funk
No
Blacklabel
oh so he only got some of what he wanted to get, not everything.
but what he did get was so significant that Democrats actually voted against this because Kevin got more than they are happy with? they are mad he didnt get nothing, which by default means he got something.
You dont sound very happy that we avoided all of those horrible things that defaulting would have caused.
Why are you still not happy if Kevin really got his ass kicked as you claim?
wallace
The EPA was formed by the Republican president Nixon, in 1970.
wallace
bass4funk
Then the passing of the Bill is a failure for you.
bass4funk
True, but sadly….
https://www.frontpagemag.com/how-the-epa-turned-into-a-toxic-leftist-slush-fund/
EFD
Quite simply, the GQP has made paying taxes an evil thing. It used to be the patriotic, civic thing to do. Now it's for suckers.
There is no spending problem. The US is fundamentally under-investing in the future. In Education, Govt. funded basic research, Infrastructure, etc., the level of govt funding as a % of GDP is not up to snuff.
What we have is a revenue problem. The top 1% make incomes that I do not begrudge them but they do not pay a fair portion of their taxes even by Regan-era standards.
Nor do corporations, who benefit from infrastructure, education, basic research and the rule of law, pay taxes in proportion to the benefits they receive.
Luminaries like the late Steve Jobbs used to scream at the top of their lungs to the State Department about copyright protections, but when it came time to base jobs in the US and pay taxes in the US, SUDDENLY they had a feduciary responsibility to their share holders to base as much of their operations overseas as possible so as to escape taxation.
That is why we owe 31 Trillion. Had we not given a massive tax cut to the top 1% of society and major corporations, the debt would be much smaller.
The good news is that as a result of the deal that JOE got passed, the debt will be 1.5 trillion smaller over the course of the next decade.
The appropriate debt level is not zero. The questions are, what is the appropriate debt level (and I would agree that 119% of GDP is too high) and how do we get on a gradual path as a % of GDP to get there.
Over time it is a combination of economic growth resulting in more taxes taken in, ACTUALLY COLLECTING taxes (thus the IRS funding), modest spending cuts and some level or revenue increases (progressive taxation on the rich).
wallace
"Frontpage mag" ROFL
Blacklabel
false- the government is taking in more revenue from its citizens than at any time in the history of our country except 1 year right after WW2 and 1 year during the Bush war.
its how we spend it (and mainly how we give it away to others) that is the issue.
Not "rich people".
bass4funk
Not just for the right, the left as well. It wasn’t a win, win for either and not quite a complete loss for both sides.
lincolnman
We're seeing a lot of self-contradiction on this thread by our MAGA-faithful...
First they say they support the 29 Repubs who voted against the bill....
Then two posts down, they say they are for it...
Up is down, black is white, and the vaccine is safe and its poison....
Welcome to MAGA-world...
maxjapank
You might not love him, but Biden has proven to be the best choice for getting things done.
theResident
Still very confused with @Blacklabels definition of 'most'
EFD
False. Marginal Tax rates for the top income brackets have never been lower and as a % of GDP the wealthy have never been taxed less.
Assuming that your claims of weath are true, you just don't want to pay your fair share for the country you claim to be a part of.
Blacklabel
thought it was Kevin's deal?
you guys keep flip flopping.
The good stuff its Biden's deal, the bad stuff its Kevin's deal, huh?
Its not even accurate anyway cause a bill got passed (by Kevin, that Joe supports), not a deal.
A deal doesnt get passed, now does it?
the headline says it all-
".....sends Biden-McCarthy deal"
EFD
The long-awaited follow-up to "the heard", lol.
apeman
Out of 213 Democrats 161 voted against it and 52 in favor. 222 Re
where are you getting this information? Every news outlet reports the following:
republicans: yes 149, no 71
democrats: yes 165, no 46
the vote was also cast live on TV and is in the congressional record showing those numbers
Bob Fosse
Some of our more conservative minded posters stated they preferred to tank the economy. It must be disappointing for them that smarter and more sensible minds prevailed.
bass4funk
None
Yes, but did I like it, absolutely not, keep trying, you are slipping.
For some it is.
Proud of it.
Bob Fosse
Poor chip roy, all that talk of turd sandwiches and lynchings just to get his gammon face in the news.
bass4funk
And to that Kevin is smart to get no new spending for 2 years and that is something the Dems didn't like, so they got equally got backed in a corner.
lincolnman
Those were not your posts - they were from your fellow MAGA-member...why did you think they were yours?
Hated it - but voted for it....OK, sounds like your vote in 2020...
BINGO! Thanks for the admission...
Good for you...I guess you hate it and love it at the same time...
Blacklabel
btw, this hasnt passed the Democrat led Senate yet.
No expected shenanigans there?
all good? everybody onboard with the things they lost?
EFD
Nope. None on the non-GQP side. God only knows what the fame-seeking Lee/Hawley/Paul gargoyles will do, but it is going to pass. It will pass comfortably. Bernie won't vote for it and nobody will care.
It's going to pass because unlike the total Goobers in the House, Mitch, dislike him as I do on policy, is a responsible adult who will not tolerate silliness with the full faith and credit hanging in the balance.
It's done. It will pass. Goobers lose.
bass4funk
Because I could care less.
Naw, 2016
Yup!
It's Called human emotion
EFD
Joe got the deal done. Kevin had to eat it.
Given what he took from Trump, he probably didn't even notice.
theResident
@Blacklabel: It will pass the Senate. Period.
lincolnman
Our MAGA friends can do their usual delusion spin and try to make this some kind of victory for McCarthy when it is clear it is a humiliating defeat...
This was HIS bill in the House - he wanted it passed, but he couldn't get a plurality of his own Repubs to support him and pass it - 71 opposed him....so Jeffries got a majority of Dems to HELP Kevin and pass HIS bill...
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-debt-ceiling-bill-faces-narrow-path-passage-house-2023-05-31/
Got that? Dems helped Kevin pass his debt ceiling bill - not Repubs...
Now he has to face the wrath of these 71 angry, outraged Repubs...when it only takes 1 to issue a motion to vacate...
So he had to grovel to Dems to help pass his bill and now faces a mutiny to his speakership...
I guess that's "winning" in MAGA-world...
ROFL...
Ricky Kaminski13
Love how the dems label everyone that dares question their agenda as ‘hard right Maga extremists’. Their language reveals their low views on democracy, along with their narcissistic low resolution moralism that is not only dangerous but does more harm than good. The results of uncle Joe plain as day for everyone to see. He is a train wreck. Anyone watch him try to explain what just happened? Meme worthy.
Give me a staunch, feet on the ground conservative any day to run any company, group or nation. Realism vs idealism. ( an ex idiot leftist myself, many have made the switch )
It wasn’t a win for either side this one, such is the nature of the word ‘deal’, but the lines are being drawn. Always hoping for America to find sturdier ground and stronger feet.
bass4funk
It wasn't a victory for anyone, definitely not for either party. The only people that humiliated were once again the American people.
While putting a cap on their own spending, a win, win, thanks, Jeffries.
He will be fine, not much else he could have done, but the Dems now have to gripe and deal with the fact they don't get a blank check anymore. Thank God!
No, its Washington compromising
bass4funk
They are just regurgitating WH talking points as if conservatives get angry at the word. Lol
Well, exactly.
I totally understand the feeling.
lincolnman
It wasn't a victory for anyone, definitely not for either party. The only people that humiliated were once again the American people.
While putting a cap on their own spending, a win, win, thanks, Jeffries.
He will be fine, not much else he could have done, but the Dems now have to gripe and deal with the fact they don't get a blank check anymore. Thank God!
No, its Washington compromising
Blacklabel
Yep got it buzzy
So its either two things-
One, the Dems thought it was a bad deal and screwed the American people by voting for it just to try to "clown" Kevin.
Or, the Dems thought it was a good deal and voted for Kevin's great deal for the American people as they should have.
Neither is the win or the own you think it is. Because everyone who voted against on both sides is blameless now that it passed.
lincolnman
Glad to see you disagree with your MAGA-partner who thinks it was a McCarthy victory...
But explain to us how this is not a defeat for McCarthy when he couldn't get even a plurality of his OWN party to vote for HIS bill - and had to have Dems come in and rescue him?
He had to go grovel to Jeffries for Dem votes....that's not a defeat?
EFD
Good because Kevin certainly didn't have the votes himself.
Because he got virtually nothing that he wanted.
And Kevin deserves the derision he gets for attempting to hold the economy hostage to get a non-debt repayment issue that they could not get through the budget process.
And now they don't get it anyway.
AND the debt limit is off the table.
Spin it any way you want, everyone including the Whacko-birds knows that Keven took a whipping at the hands of Sleepy Joe.
CPTOMO
Great to see McCarthy taking the leadership role on this.
bass4funk
I said, neither side won, but both sides gained a little something
I already said what it did. scroll up.
And also got the Dems to hold off spending for 2 years, checkmate Jeffries.
Blacklabel
thats a complete and TOTAL victory to make the Dems vote for this too.
Now they cant point a finger if it ends up being a bad deal for the American people.
they voted for it too, lost that ability to just blame Repubs like they always do.
Joe supported it too, so he also has ownership.
Clay
Great it was Bi-Partisan for Change, always Positive!
Like "No Labels" busy organizing third party, no crazy agenda driven partisans, compromise = Good Thing, we need more such wins!
bass4funk
Neither did Joe
That will blow over when they realize, things will change in two years when Biden is gone.
Keeping the lid on Dems spending is good enough even if it is only for 2 years.
I don't need to spin anything.
EFD
Sure, if you call taking it in the shorts "leadership", go for it.
He did what he had to do given the plank that he had walked himself out on.
His freedumb goobers are mad at him for not being stupid enough to jump.
bass4funk
This shall pass as well and the Dems will be on the opposite end, that pendulum swings both ways.
EFD
No it won't. The goobers don't forget and they won't forgive Kevin for not being a total goober.
And the Democrats have proven in spades that they are the responsible parents. They won't put themselves in a situation this stupid.
They aren't GQP after all, lol.
funkymofo
Hahaha
https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/frontpage-magazine/
bass4funk
Of course we will, no power stays lasting forever, hate to break it to you
If that were to happen, then we just have a new speaker
No, because if they were, they were still control of the house
stormcrow
Sadly, this atmosphere is what you might expect if a suicide cult assumed political influence.
This should not be happening. It's so abnormal.
JeffLee
The biggest holder of treasuries, ie, US debt, is the social security fund. Several other US government funds, like the highways fund, are among the biggest. Pension funds in both the public and private sectors are also near the top.
As for foreign holders, Japan is the biggest, followed by China. Those countries buy treasuries because they earn tons of $$$ thru international trade and would rather not hold so much foreign cash. The US govt pays US$ to those countries for the coupon and principle on the bonds. Those countries can’t use most of that money to buy anything at home, so they use it to buy more treasuries or other US products, services and assets. The vast majority of USD ends up back in the US.
Superlib
Resorts are coming out about a side deal between McCarthy and Jeffries that gave Dems more cash for earmarks if they helped McCarthy pass a procedural hurdle.
Should be fun if true.
bass4funk
Read the 99 page Bill, not a good solution to the Federal government continually spending more than States send to DC. Most striking points: 1) it claws back less than $30 billion of $4.7 Trillion Covid money doled out, and 2) it included environmental and permitting clearances for a 300+ mile pipeline project from West Virginia to Southern Virginia. Who does that pander to? Senator Joe Manchin's constituents, who are being hard-pressed to support his re-election. Sickening, and all on us taxpayers' dollars, not dimes....
Oh, I weep for the poor., voting for Paul robbing Peter, never helps.
Bob Fosse
Better late than never. You didn’t yesterday.
Peter14
I wonder what that vote was for, as it was not to send the bill for the extension of the debit ceiling to the Senate.
https://www.ocregister.com/2023/05/31/how-did-orange-countys-representatives-vote-on-the-debt-ceiling-deal/
Out of 211 Democrats 46 voted against it and 165 in favor. Republicans 71 against and 149 in favor.
EFD
Shhhhh! Don't talk facts.
You'll only confuse it. It gets easily confused.....
funkymofo
Neither do tax cuts for the ultra rich.
PTownsend
The farce Kev, his Kens, Karens, Margie Q, and other kooks showed once again that the Trump Republican sect cares next to nothing about the majority of the country, and are in office and stay in office by doing whatever they can to help the elite establishment maintain their power and control.
EFD
PT, I would submit that they care a great deal about the majority, but nothing about resposible governence. Perhaps it is a distinction without a difference.
bass4funk
The poor create jobs now? How? Lol
bass4funk
Sorry, it wasn’t the GOP that started a war and got involved in Ukraine or ran on open borders or spent like a drunken sailor on entitlements for everything other than teaching America s how to be self-reliant, curtail spending funding a woke military, but not wanting to upgrade our hardware and on and on, as for the establishment, the Dems and their Democrat donors are the most powerful people on the planet, what are you on???
dagon
Coal baron Manchin got his corporate welfare dirty infrastructure project, the Republicans stuck it to the poor, Republicans can exult and the American people can suffer.
Same as usual and another morning in America.
Superlib
Nearly all jobs are created by small business in America, not the ultra rich. Stop giving Paris Hilton tax breaks.
EFD
None of it. And although saying it over and over in your bubble (or where ever you are) may be an effective rhetorical technique, here on Planet Reality (AKA Earth) merely repeating wild non-factual bunk just doesn't cut it.
Love the Pee-Wee Herman impression though.
funkymofo
https://borgenproject.org/how-fewer-people-in-poverty-creates-more-jobs/
https://truthout.org/articles/actually-the-rich-dont-create-jobs-we-do/
https://www.businessinsider.com/rich-people-create-jobs-2013-11?op=1
Demand creates jobs.
bass4funk
True
Paris Hilton, love small business owners got a lot in my family, but when it comes to building corporations and employing thousands you need the Rich, so we are right back where we started.
dagon
Wokeness , Ukraine, entitled poor. Right.
The deflection of corporate shills is real from the real causes of government shortfalls.
https://itep.org/budget-deficit-revenue-shortfall-caused-by-tax-cuts-for-wealthy/
Superlib
This is what keeps me smiling about the deal. The Freedom Caucus was utterly marginalized during this process. And now they can't even make good on their "leaverage" to oust Kevin as they don't have to votes to carry out the threat.
How the mighty have fallen.
bass4funk
Who fell?
Not sure about that, I’m just glad at least for a time the breaks have been put in this President’s blank check spending
Superlib
And the rich need workers to build their products and the middle class to buy them at scale. You keep pretending that the only piece of the puzzle is a rich person and that's where you go wrong. It's like telling me that a car needs an engine as a way to say we can ignore wheels.
Stop ignoring the poor and middle class. They play a part and shouldn't be sidelined so you can hand over more money to rich grandkids of industrialists.
bass4funk
But the mega-Rich have the money to pay them
I don’t, but the Rich provide jobs, not the poor.
Superlib
Your beloved Freedom Caucus. The ones you supported. The ones you said would keep a tight leash on McCarthy back when you hated him becoming speaker. The ones who held the power to replace him.
The cherry on top will be if McCarthy paid off Democrats to help go around the "Freedomers." That would be epic.
Superlib
And they get their money from the middle class buying their products. That's why a shrinking middle class is worrisome and why we should be focusing tax cuts there. Giving all the tax breaks to the rich would stall the economy. Giving them all to the middle class would boom the economy.
Can't deny that.
bass4funk
Goes both ways
Of course
bass4funk
Maybe if the Dems wouldn’t have crushed the middle class with their disastrous policies people wouldn’t leave Cali and NYC in droves. Taking other people’s money is never the solution.
bass4funk
Try again.
Then you have bad taste.
Hardly