Debt Ceiling Deal Update:

Debt Ceiling Update Includes: The agreement will place additional work requirements on older Americans to receive food assistance, but will remove those barriers for veterans and homeless adults.

One of the most contentious issues surrounding talks over raising the debt limit has been whether the Biden administration would agree to stricter work requirements for people seeking food stamps and other safety net assistance.

The deal reached this weekend includes something of a compromise: It increases work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and cash welfare but does not alter requirements for Medicaid. It also expands food stamp access for veterans, homeless people and young adults transitioning out of the foster care system.

Whether that agreement will pass muster with progressive Democrats and conservative Republicans remains to be seen.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy is championing inclusion of work requirements as a win, but more conservative members have criticized the compromise as not going far enough. Representative Chip Roy, Republican of Texas, called the work requirements“weak” while Representative Dan Bishop, Republican of North Carolina, characterized the deal as a “betrayal.”

Biden administration officials have highlighted the expanded access for veterans as a victory. But liberal Democrats and activists for the poor are decrying the changes as onerous and counterproductive, pointing to research showing that existing requirements have little impact on employment.

Representative Pramila Jayapal, Democrat of Washington, called the work requirement provisions “absolutely terrible policy” on CNN on Sunday, and said she would need to examine the text of the agreement more closely before deciding whether to vote for passage.

Asked on Monday about the concerns raised by Ms. Jayapal and other progressive Democrats, President Biden said he had not “had a chance to speak to her yet” but implored critics to “talk to me.”

The text of a hard-fought agreement to raise the US debt limit was released to the public on Sunday, ahead of an expected vote in Congress as soon as Wednesday. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned that the country could default on its obligations as early as June 5 if the ceiling is not raised. 

The 99-page “Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023” raises the debt limit for two years and sets discretionary spending limits through 2029. It sets a generous limit of $886 billion for the 2024 defense budget and $895 billion for 2025, while non-military discretionary programs get just $637 billion. 

”READ FULL ARTICLE: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/29/us/politics/debt-limit-deal-food-stamps.html

About Author

R.X.REBELMOUTH

See author's posts