U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, left, California Republican and U.S. President Joe Biden attend the annual Friends of Ireland Luncheon on St. Patrick’s Day at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, March 17, 2023. (Photo: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP)
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images
WASHINGTON — Tougher work requirements for social safety net programs are emerging as potential areas of compromise as President Joe Biden hosts a highly anticipated meeting of congressional leaders on the debt ceiling at the White House on Tuesday.
The limits are a key demand of House Republicans, who included them in the partisan debt-limit bill that passed the House last month.
“The public wants it,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Tuesday, citing a recent Wisconsin ballot initiative. “Both parties want it, and the idea that (Democrats) want us to default because they won’t work with us is laughable to me.”
But they’re also a red line for some progressive Democrats, a fact that could scramble the math for any debt-limit deal that might pass the House.
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said on MSNBC that the current job requirement to increase the federal aid package is “a non-starter for me.”
“It’s brutal, especially now that we’re seeing a slowdown in the economy,” Khanna said. “I hope the president will stick to what he said, we pay off the debt and then we can negotiate the budget.”
But Biden and the White House have indicated in recent days that those demands are likely to be on the table as Congress scrambles to reach a deal to raise or suspend the debt ceiling in time to avoid the economic fallout from a possible U.S. debt default. As early as the first week of June.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met with McCarthy, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and the minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky).
The White House also said Tuesday that it would cancel the second leg of the president’s upcoming international visit given the delicate state of debt-ceiling talks.
Biden is now scheduled to leave on Wednesday for Japan, where he will attend the G7 leaders’ summit. A source familiar with Biden’s travel plans told NBC News that he will now return to the United States on Sunday immediately after the meeting and will not visit Papua New Guinea and Australia as planned.
In response to a question about work requirements over the weekend, Biden referred to his own voting record in the Senate on welfare work requirements in the 1990s.
“I voted for tougher aid, which is now law, but with Medicaid, it’s a different story. So I’m waiting to hear about them,” Biden said Sunday in Rehoboth, Delaware. What are the specific proposals.”
A Republican bill passed last month included tougher work requirements not just for Medicaid, but also for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) fund and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program food stamps.
The White House reiterated Tuesday that Biden would reject at least some of the proposed job requests.
White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre said Biden “would not accept a proposal that would take away people’s health insurance.” She did not say, however, that he would not accept changes to food stamps or interim assistance programs.
This is a developing story, please check back for updates.