(ReclaimingAmerica.net) – The highest-ranking Democrat in the US Senate, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), has reiterated his rejection of the Republican plan for raising the debt ceiling in exchange for budget cuts over the next decade.
Schumer’s new remarks come against the backdrop of a warning by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen that the federal government could default on its debts as early as June unless Congress hikes the borrowing limit.
The existing debt ceiling of $31.4 trillion was technically reached in January. President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats have insisted that the Republican majority in the House of Representatives should agree to raise the limit without any conditions.
Last week, the House Republicans passed the draft Limit, Save, Grow Act, their plan for breaking the stalemate, which agrees to hike the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion through early 2024 in exchange for $4.8 trillion in budget savings over the next decade.
However, on Monday, Senate Majority Leader Schumer doubled down on his opposition to the GOP plan, accusing the Republicans of risking default.
He promised to hold Senate hearings that would “expose the true impact” of the legislation dubbed by Democrats “Default on America Act.”
In a letter to the GOP, the top Senate Democrat stated the GOP bill would be examined in a Budget Committee hearing on Thursday.
“This bill was hastily drafted and forced through the House at a break-neck speed,” Schumer emphasized, as cited by Breitbart News.
“The Senate will show the public what this bill truly is. Beginning this week, our Committees will begin to hold hearings to expose the true impact of this reckless legislation on everyday Americans,” the New York Democrat added.
The report points out that the Republican plan would block President Joe Biden’s student loan bailout, cancel the recent $80 billion funding increase for the IRS, and climate provisions of last year’s Inflation Reduction Act. It would also boost work requirements for welfare recipients.
Schumer warned that the Republican-sponsored bill for a debt ceiling compromise would have “real, dramatic impacts” on Americans.
“The DOA would gut Medicaid for over 20 million Americans, rip away SNAP benefits for over a million recipients and eliminate Pell grants for tens of thousands of American students every year,” Schumer’s letter claims.
“The DOA would cut critical funding to nearly all sectors of American life meaning fewer jobs, higher costs, and leaving policemen, first responders, border patrol, and our brave veterans all hanging out to dry,” the Senate Majority Leader alleges further.
He blamed any risks on “MAGA Republicans” in the US House of Representatives.
“If anything, the MAGA House Republicans’ actions have increased the likelihood of default… If Speaker McCarthy was a serious good-faith negotiator, he would not have let extremists take him hostage and move this debate in the wrong direction,” Schumer declared.
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