Republican Senator Bill Cassidy portrayed a short-term boost in the US debt ceiling as a potential “cooling-off period” for partisan impasse as the nation barrels closer to catastrophic default.
(Bloomberg) — Republican Senator Bill Cassidy portrayed a short-term boost in the US debt ceiling as a potential “cooling-off period” for partisan impasse as the nation barrels closer to catastrophic default.
The possibility of a short-term fix for the debt standoff has gained increasing prominence since Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Congress the US may exhaust its ability to service debts by June 1 without action. The idea so far hasn’t been broadly embraced by lawmakers.
A modest increase in the debt ceiling or temporary suspension of the limit could avoid a default and buy time for a longer-term accord to be reached
Cassidy still joined Republican leaders in pressing President Joe Biden to open negotiations on GOP demands for deep spending cuts in return for raising the debt limit. Otherwise, a short-term increase would have little value, he said.
“You can ask if the president is not going to engage what does buying short-term mean?” Cassidy said Monday on Bloomberg Television. “The president has got to engage.”
Biden is set to meet Tuesday with Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and top congressional leaders on the impasse over raising the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling. Both sides are dug in, with Biden and other Democratic leaders rejecting GOP demands as “hostage taking.”
Cassidy also dismissed the notion that Biden could broker a deal with anyone other than McCarthy, calling the inclusion in the White House meeting of Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell mere “window-dressing.”
“The only person he needs to meet with is Kevin McCarthy,” Cassidy said.
The Republican-led House in late April passed legislation on a razor-thin 217-215 vote that would hike the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion — enough to prevent a default until March 31, 2024 — in exchange for $4.8 trillion in budget cuts. Senate Republicans say they would block a “clean” debt ceiling increase and that some cuts are needed for their support.
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