{"id":48490,"date":"2023-01-30T11:05:49","date_gmt":"2023-01-30T11:05:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/this-week-biden-mccarthy-to-meet-amid-debt-ceiling-standoff\/"},"modified":"2023-01-30T11:05:49","modified_gmt":"2023-01-30T11:05:49","slug":"this-week-biden-mccarthy-to-meet-amid-debt-ceiling-standoff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/this-week-biden-mccarthy-to-meet-amid-debt-ceiling-standoff\/","title":{"rendered":"This week: Biden, McCarthy to meet amid debt ceiling standoff"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> \n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) are scheduled to meet this week amid a standoff over the debt ceiling.<\/p>\n<p>The highly anticipated meeting \u2014\u00a0scheduled for Wednesday at the White House \u2014\u00a0comes nearly two weeks after the U.S. hit its debt ceiling, starting the clock for Congress to take action or allow the country to default on its loans.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>The GOP-led House this week is slated to vote on a series of pandemic-related bills \u2014\u00a0including one that seeks to end the public health emergency declared for the coronavirus \u2014\u00a0in addition to a resolution condemning socialism. Two committees are also set to hold hearings on the border and pandemic-relief funds.<\/p>\n<p>On the Senate side, a roll call vote is scheduled for Monday evening. The chamber is still waiting on leaders to strike a deal on an organizing resolution, which will establish committee ratios and rules for the new Congress.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Biden, McCarthy meet on debt ceiling<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Biden and McCarthy will meet face-to-face at the White House Wednesday, coming together for a discussion as debt ceiling talks heat up on Capitol Hill. <\/p>\n<p>The White House earlier this month <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/administration\/3821826-white-house-signals-biden-will-meet-with-mccarthy-in-coming-weeks\/\">signaled that Biden would sit down<\/a> with the Speaker early this year, but did not disclose a date. On Sunday, <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/sunday-talk-shows\/3835095-mccarthy-says-hell-meet-biden-on-wednesday-to-talk-debt-ceiling\/\">both parties announced<\/a> that the gathering would happen this week.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re going to meet this Wednesday,\u201d McCarthy told CBS\u2019s \u201cFace the Nation\u201d during an interview. \u201cI know the President said he didn\u2019t want to have any discussions, but I think it\u2019s very important that our whole government is designed to find compromise. I want to find a reasonable and a responsible way that we can lift the debt ceiling, but take control of this runaway spending.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Shortly after, the White House confirmed the meeting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPresident Biden will host Speaker McCarthy at the White House on Wednesday for a discussion on a range of issues, part of a series of meetings with Congressional leaders at the start of this new Congress,\u201d a White House spokesperson told The Hill in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>The meeting comes as both dig in their heels over the debt ceiling. <\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>The White House has said it <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/administration\/3820248-why-the-white-house-is-refusing-to-negotiate-on-the-debt-ceiling\/\">wants a clean increase<\/a> in the borrowing limit \u2014\u00a0without using the must-pass measure as a means for negotiations \u2014\u00a0while some conservative House Republicans are pushing for spending cuts.<\/p>\n<p>Top Republicans have not proposed a concrete way to cut spending, but McCarthy on Sunday offered some details on what a potential plan could look like. He told \u201cFace the Nation\u201d that cuts to Medicare and Social Security are <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/sunday-talk-shows\/3835082-mccarthy-social-security-medicare-cuts-off-the-table\/\">\u201coff the table,\u201d<\/a> but did not rule out potential reductions in defense spending.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to make sure we\u2019re protected in our defense spending, but I want to make sure it\u2019s effective and efficient,\u201d McCarthy said when asked about the area of funding. \u201cI want to look at every single dollar we\u2019re spending, no matter where it\u2019s being spent. I want to eliminate waste wherever it is.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr4_ab\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cI want to look at every single department. Where can we become more efficient, more effective, and more accountable?\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen earlier this month said <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/finance\/3819480-treasury-resorts-to-extraordinary-measures-to-keep-the-us-from-debt-default\/\">\u201cextraordinary measures\u201d<\/a> to avoid a default would last through June 5, leaving Congress a few months to come to a consensus on how to prevent potential economic catastrophe.<\/p>\n<p>The White House spokesperson said Biden on Wednesday will press McCarthy on if he plans to do just that.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr5_ab\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cThe President will ask Speaker McCarthy if he intends to meet his Constitutional obligation to prevent a national default, as every other House and Senate leader in U.S. history has done, and as Leaders McConnell, Schumer, and Jeffries have pledged to do. He will underscore that the economic security of all Americans cannot be held hostage to force unpopular cuts on working families,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>House takes up pandemic-related bills, socialism resolution<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The House this week is slated to consider a number of pandemic-related bills as the Republican majority looks to scale back some COVID-19 precautions.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr6_ab\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>On the list is the \u201cFreedom for Health Care Workers Act,\u201d which seeks to end the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for some health care workers employed at facilities that take part in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. It comes after Republicans <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/defense\/3763875-lawmakers-agree-to-repeal-military-vaccine-mandate-in-defense-bill-over-pentagon-objections\/\">successfully added language<\/a> into the end-of-the-year omnibus spending bill that eliminated the Pentagon\u2019s COVID-19 vaccine requirement.<\/p>\n<p>The House is also scheduled to vote on the \u201cPandemic is Over Act,\u201d which would declare the public health emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic over, in addition to a resolution that would do the same.<\/p>\n<p>The measures are set to hit the floor less than one month after the Department of Health and Human Services renewed the public health emergency for the twelfth time since it was first declared in January 2020. Each renewal lasts for 90 days.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr7_ab\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>The Senate made attempts at ending the public health emergency in the last Congress, passing legislation that failed to move in the House. According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/senate-votes-to-end-covid-19-emergency-declaration-11668559887\">The Wall Street Journal<\/a>, Congress has the power to request votes on whether or not to end the emergency.<\/p>\n<p>When describing the bill, the office of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) pointed to Biden\u2019s comments in November that said <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/healthcare\/3649751-biden-the-pandemic-is-over\/\">\u201cthe pandemic is over.\u201d<\/a> The president later <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/healthcare\/3652910-biden-clarifies-covid-comments-pandemic-basically-is-not-where-it-was\/\">clarified his remarks<\/a>, saying \u201cit basically is not where it was.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Also on the list of legislation this week is the \u201cStopping Home Office Work\u2019s Unproductive Problems (SHOW UP) Act,\u201d which zeroes in on telework policies. The bill would force agencies to revert to telework policies that were in place before the pandemic, and prevent them from expanding the practices until they draw up a plan how telework and remote work will be used in the future.<\/p>\n<p>The measure also directs executive agencies to submit a study to Congress on the effects telework and remote work has had.<\/p>\n<p>Aside from the pandemic-related bills, the House this week is set to vote on a resolution introduced by Rep. Mar\u00eda Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) \u201cdenouncing the horrors of socialism.\u201d <\/p>\n<p><strong>House Judiciary, Oversight hold hearings<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Republican-led House Judiciary and Oversight Committees are set to hold their first hearings of the new Congress this week, setting their sights on the border and pandemic fraud.<\/p>\n<p>The Judiciary Committee \u2014 led by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) \u2014\u00a0will hold a hearing on \u201cThe Biden Border Crisis\u201d on Wednesday. It is the first hearing that will zero in on the Biden administration since Republicans took control of the House.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cReady to get to work,\u201d Jordan wrote on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Jim_Jordan\/status\/1618269826883158017?s=20&amp;t=hLD4hYxJ0YeEZdDVYhqfuQ\">Twitter<\/a> after the hearing was announced.<\/p>\n<p>Also on Wednesday, the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability is scheduled to hold a hearing \u2014 titled \u201cFederal Pandemic Spending: A Prescription for Waste, Fraud, and Abuse\u201d \u2014 on funds that were appropriated during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>Michael Horowitz, the chair of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee; Gene Dodaro, the Comptroller General, U.S. Government Accountability Office; and David M. Smith, the assistant director of the Secret Service\u2019s Office of Investigations are all slated to appear as witnesses.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe owe it to Americans to identify how hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars spent under the guise of pandemic relief were lost to waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement,\u201d Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the chair of the committee, wrote in a <a href=\"https:\/\/oversight.house.gov\/release\/chairman-comer-announces-hearing-on-waste-fraud-and-abuse-in-pandemic-recovery-programs\/\">statement<\/a> on Friday.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"thehill-promo-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/house\/3833833-what-three-hard-line-conservatives-plan-to-do-with-their-seats-on-the-rules-committee\/\" class=\"thehill-promo-link__link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n\t\tWhat three hard-line conservatives plan to do with their seats on the Rules Committee\t<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/house\/3835405-maxine-waters-says-manchin-and-sinema-dont-give-a-darn-about-policing-reform\/\" class=\"thehill-promo-link__link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n\t\tMaxine Waters says Manchin and Sinema \u2018don\u2019t give a darn\u2019 about policing reform\t<\/a><br \/>\n\t<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cUnder Republican leadership, the Oversight Committee is returning to its primary duty to root out waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in the federal government and hold President Biden accountable,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p><em>Alex Bolton contributed.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/__i\/rss\/rd\/articles\/CBMiZ2h0dHBzOi8vdGhlaGlsbC5jb20vaG9tZW5ld3MvaG91c2UvMzgzNTUxNC10aGlzLXdlZWstYmlkZW4tbWNjYXJ0aHktdG8tbWVldC1hbWlkLWRlYnQtY2VpbGluZy1zdGFuZG9mZi_SAWtodHRwczovL3RoZWhpbGwuY29tL2hvbWVuZXdzL2hvdXNlLzM4MzU1MTQtdGhpcy13ZWVrLWJpZGVuLW1jY2FydGh5LXRvLW1lZXQtYW1pZC1kZWJ0LWNlaWxpbmctc3RhbmRvZmYvYW1wLw?oc=5\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) are scheduled to meet this week amid a standoff over the debt ceiling. The highly anticipated meeting \u2014\u00a0scheduled for Wednesday at the White House \u2014\u00a0comes nearly two weeks after the U.S. hit its debt ceiling, starting the clock for Congress to take action or allow the country to &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48491,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[161],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48490"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48490"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48490\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48491"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}