Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) has announced that she will not be voting in favor of the debt ceiling deal between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), claiming that it would normalize high spending. The deal suspends the debt limit until 2025, caps spending growth for the next two years (except for defense and veterans) and expands work requirements for food stamps. Mace, a moderate among House Republicans, revealed that she would vote “no” on the bill because “playing the DC game isn’t worth selling out our kids and grandkids.”
“This ‘deal’ normalizes record high spending started during the pandemic,” she wrote on social media. “It sets these historically high spending levels as the baseline for all future spending.” She added that the Fiscal Responsibility Act would be “a wash spending-wise” since the “small cut” to discretionary spending will be eclipsed by “large increases in spending elsewhere.”
Washington is, was and always will be lousy at responsibly spending your tax dollars.
That won’t change unless we demand change.
— Nancy Mace (@NancyMace) May 30, 2023
The national debt has now surpassed $31.7 trillion and serves as a continual damper on economic growth, while elevated interest rates have weighed on the budget as lawmakers are forced to devote more revenues toward servicing the debt rather than spending on federal programs. An amendment to the debt limit, which can only occur with endorsement from the House, could induce a recession and lead to a downgrade in the federal government’s credit rating.
Other lawmakers, including Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) and Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL), have also expressed their concerns about the arrangement in recent days. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), on the other hand, spoke against Biden compromising with Republicans, contending that the move would cause a backlash among the broader public as some elements of his legislative agenda are potentially redacted.
THREAD: There are members of the GOP claiming Democrats got nothing from the “deal.” Oh really? 1) An uncapped debt ceiling with an expiration date – worth approximately $4 trillion…? 2) basically no cuts – a freeze at bloated 2023 spending level? #DebtCeiling (1/3)
— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) May 28, 2023
House Republican leaders, meanwhile, celebrated the deal and said it marks a landmark victory for the conference. “Today, we secured a historic series of wins worthy of the American people,” they said in a statement.
