Resolving the debt crisis drama

MARY REICHARD, HOST: It’s Thursday the 1st of June, 2023. Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Mary Reichard.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown.

What a sweet, sweet sound! Last night was bonfire night at World Journalism Institute. I’ve only been away a few days, and I miss ’em already.

Nick, Paul, and our producer Harrison, also the Big Bash and Michelle Schlavin from WORLD Watch, as well as members of our breaking-news team, and WORLD magazine editors Lynn Vincent and Daniel James Devine. They have continued on, helping the students wrap up their final projects.

But times like these, times of fellowship like this, is so important, too. They’re working on building relationships, because out in a hostile world of journalism, where worldviews are in conflict, those relationships with like-minded brothers and sisters will be so valuable.

Let’s just enjoy a little more of this student and teacher fellowship.

SOUND: [STUDENTS SINGING AND STUDENT THANKFULNESS MONTAGE]

REICHARD: How heartwarming is that!??!

Well, maybe you’re a listener who hasn’t yet had the joy (and I mean the joy!) of investing in our work here at WORLD. This is the week to do it. We’ve said it every day this week: we have generous donors who are matching dollar for dollar each new gift that comes in. Please visit wng.org/newdonor. W-N-G stands for World News Group. And this week only all new donor gifts are matched, meaning they’ll go twice as far. Sweet! wng.org/newdonor.

BROWN: All right, very good.

Well, coming up next: resolving the nation’s debt ceiling drama. World’s Washington Bureau reporter Leo Briceno brings us a report.

LEO BRICENO, REPORTER: Last night, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a highly-anticipated agreement that raises the debt ceiling for the United States. The bill is the product of weeks of negotiations between House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the White House, and enables the country to continue to meet its financial obligations. But its terms have left both Republicans and Democrats with less than they had hoped.

The house passed the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in a landslide 314 to 117 votes. More democrats voted in favor of the McCarthy-led bill than Republicans. Some members of the GOP argued the bill wasn’t strong enough and refused to vote for the 100-page piece of legislation.

This bill has been months in the making.

Many Republicans in the House wanted to use the debt ceiling debate to make meaningful cuts to government spending. President Joe Biden had said he wouldn’t entertain any cuts without first raising the ceiling.

The bill makes minimal reductions to government spending, but does impose some limits for non-defense expenses in the next two years. At the same time, the agreement suspends the debt ceiling until 2025—until after the next presidential election.

Richard Stern is the director of the Heritage Foundation’s Grover M. Center for the Federal Budget. Stern says those looking at this bill to pay a “down payment” on the nation’s debt, will have to look elsewhere.

GROVER STERN: This is terrible because it's not really increasing the debt ceiling, it's suspending it. So between, you know, whenever the bill gets signed in the law, if it gets signed in the law and January 1st of 2025 there will just be no debt ceiling whatsoever. And so for that whole period of time, whatever.

The debt ceiling has dominated the spotlight for both Republicans and Democrats in Congress. But what about everyday voters? What do they see when they look at the issue? I asked a man on the street in Iowa last week what he thought.

SOUND: [WALKING DOWN THE STREET]

Caesar Jiron lives in Sioux City, Iowa—in a low income neighborhood where a lot of the residents are unemployed. Jiron keeps tabs on what’s going on in D.C., but doesn’t have high hopes for future negotiations on U.S. debt. He thinks some of the country’s best solutions may remain undiscovered.

CAESAR JIRON: The politicians, they pass bills thinking it is their money, and they will not think outside the box.

Part of Jiron’s frustration stems from inefficient government spending. In fourteen years with the military, Jiron spent time in Iraq and Kuwait. While overseas, he was frequently shocked by some of the government’s monetary decisions. He remembers how the army used to supply printers, valued at around $500.

JIRON: When the printer ran out of ink, just to get that ink over there for the same printer, it was another $500! So what was better? Oh, we just order a new printer. That’s the same problem with this budget that we have here nowadays.

For now, Jiron is not optimistic about Congress’ ability to meaningfully address the nation’s debt going forward.

JIRON: “It’s trillions of dollars! And who’s going to pay for it? It is impossible—right now 31 trillion. It is impossible for America to come out of that debt.

Back in D.C. at the Capitol, I asked House Minority leader Hakeem Jeffries what his message was to fellow Democrats in the Senate as they prepare to entertain the bill.

HAKEEM JEFFRIES: Let's get done what we need to get done on the house floor and then on to the Senate, but we remain committed to avoiding a catastrophic default.

BRICENO: What do you say to the senators that are currently debating whether or not they're going to vote for this, even against a Republican led bill?

JEFFRIES: Expectation that if we get this bill through the house with a strong bipartisan vote, that it will clear the Senate and we will avoid a catastrophic default.

The bill’s journey isn’t over, and the debt ceiling remains unresolved. The bill now heads to the Senate where it will need bipartisan support to pass before it can head to President Biden’s desk for his signature.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Leo Briceno

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