Kevin McCarthy unveils federal funding plan

In a floor speech on Wednesday afternoon, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy unveiled a spending plan to address the country's dwindling cash reserves, which will run out sometime this summer. Among other highlights of GOP policy, the proposal would return the country to 2022 levels of federal discretionary spending, recall unspent COVID-19 response funds, walk back the Biden administration’s plan to pay off student debt, and reimplement some work requirements for welfare recipients. The plan would also raise the debt limit, now at $31 trillion, by $1.5 trillion.

Is the proposal likely to become law? McCarthy’s plan is more of a first salvo of negotiations than a done deal. His list of priorities communicates to President Joe Biden and the Democratic-controlled majority in the Senate exactly what the House of Representatives hopes to see, but does not reflect a package that is likely to pass. McCarthy and Biden last met in February to address the debt limit and have not spoken since. Biden said he would not negotiate and instead called for a no-strings increase in the debt ceiling before discussing budget cuts. McCarthy called on the president and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to come to the negotiating table.

Dig deeper: Read Leo Briceno’s report in WORLD Magazine about whether the government should raise the national debt ceiling and the political issues involved.