(New York Post) - House Democrats launched a desperate maneuver Wednesday to raise the US debt ceiling without conditions, submitting a discharge petition that would need the backing of at least five Republicans to come to the floor for a vote.
House Budget Committee Ranking Member Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) initiated the proceeding with the blessing of Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), who alerted the caucus of the move Wednesday morning in a “Dear Colleague” letter.
“Yesterday, President Joe Biden convened an important bipartisan meeting with the House and Senate legislative leaders to discuss the urgent need to avoid a catastrophic default on our nation’s debt,” Jeffries wrote.
“However, given the June 1 deadline and the urgency of the moment, it is important that all legislative options be pursued in the event that no agreement is reached.”
The Democratic House leader added it was “imperative that Members make every effort to sign the discharge petition today.”
Boyle admitted to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported on the petition, that a discharge was “not a high probability move.”
In a separate statement, he added that the petition won’t “preclude a deal or prevent other action” but was intended to “create flexibility.”
“We are exactly two weeks away from a potential catastrophic default — the urgency of the moment cannot be overstated,” Boyle said.
Even if Democrats collect the required 218 signatures Wednesday, the bill would not be scheduled to be put to a vote until June 8, former House parliamentarian Thomas Wickham told the Journal. No House Republican has expressed public support for the petition or even said they would consider it.
“Every day they do not have the full 218 signatures adds another date to the count,” Wickham warned.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) dismissed the petition as “going nowhere” on Fox Business Network’s “Mornings With Maria” Wednesday.
“That really shows that the Democrats aren’t serious about doing something,” he said. “A clean debt ceiling will not pass. The president’s admitted it. [Senate Majority Leader Chuck] Schumer has admitted it. That’s really trying to give the Democrats something to save face on, but that — that will never see the light of day.”
Also Wednesday, McCarthy told CNBC that the “timeline is very short” to wrap up negotiations over raising the debt limit.
“The president should appoint either himself or people from his administration to negotiate directly with myself. The challenge here is the president waited 104 days until he came to this conclusion,” he said on the channel’s “Squawk Box” program.
McCarthy, Jeffries, Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) met with Biden on Tuesday to debate spending cuts floated in the Republican debt bill, including clawing back unspent COVID-19 relief money and tethering work requirements to federal benefit programs.
“There’s still work to do, but I made it clear to the speaker and others that we’ll speak regularly over the next several days and the staff is going to continue meeting daily to make sure we do not default,” Biden said following the meeting.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said again this week that the US could default on its debt by June 1 if the borrowing limit is not raised.
By Josh Christenson
May 17, 2023
