(C) Common Dreams
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Freedom Caucus lays out debt limit, spending demands [1]
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Date: 2023-03-10
House Freedom Caucus members want to cap nondefense discretionary spending at fiscal 2022 levels for the next decade, arguing Republicans should use the upcoming debt limit fight to force Democrats to agree to steep spending cuts they say would save $3 trillion.
The group of roughly three dozen ultraconservatives held a news conference Friday to announce their spending demands, which also includes rescinding unspent pandemic funds, repealing mandatory spending in Democrats’ climate, tax and health law and blocking President Joe Biden’s student debt relief executive action that the Supreme Court is reviewing.
The Freedom Caucus also wants to impose work requirements on various federal benefit programs like Medicaid, which they estimate would produce $30 billion a year in savings, and enact legislation to curb government regulations and spur domestic energy production.
To ensure their push for steep spending cuts doesn’t lead to a government shutdown and to incentivize Congress to enact appropriations on time, the Freedom Caucus is also proposing that the House pass a preemptive stopgap funding bill that would set discretionary spending at fiscal 2019 levels for nondefense accounts.
If the legislation the group has proposed is enacted, Freedom Caucus members “will consider voting to raise the debt ceiling,” according to a one-page summary of their proposal. The ultraconservatives routinely voted against past debt limit increases.
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[1] Url:
https://rollcall.com/2023/03/10/freedom-caucus-lays-out-debt-limit-spending-demands/
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