Bipartisan Deal Delivers Significant Conservative Policy Wins For American Families

With Republicans Unified Around Speaker McCarthy To Negotiate A Bipartisan Agreement On The Debt Limit, ‘Democrats’ “No Negotiations” Position On The Debt Ceiling Vanished’

LEADER McCONNELL: “Speaker McCarthy and House Republicans deserve our thanks. This spring, they passed the only viable legislation that both preserved our nation’s full faith and credit and made real progress toward getting federal spending under control. House Republicans’ unity forced President Biden to do his job. It’s that simple.” (Sen. McConnell, Remarks, 5/30/2023)

“Democrats are stuck doing exactly what they said they wouldn’t — negotiating on the debt ceiling with Republicans…. Many progressives are at a loss over how the party ended up here, having slowly reversed a stance that they wouldn’t haggle with the GOP over the debt limit, after deciding not to even attempt a party-line debt hike last year.” (“How Dems Ended Up Where They Swore They Wouldn’t Be: Negotiating On The Debt Limit,” Politico, 5/20/2023)

• “[A]fter McCarthy took the speakership … congressional Democratic leaders and Biden resisted [negotiations], saying they would accept only a standalone clean debt ceiling, particularly until Republicans passed a bill to establish a negotiating position. Then, to the surprise of many, McCarthy did just that.” (“How Dems Ended Up Where They Swore They Wouldn’t Be: Negotiating On The Debt Limit,” Politico, 5/20/2023)

• “Democrats’ ‘no negotiations’ position on the debt ceiling vanished …” (“How Dems Ended Up Where They Swore They Wouldn’t Be: Negotiating On The Debt Limit,” Politico, 5/20/2023)

“After months of insisting that the topic was non-negotiable, President Joe Biden and his allies are desperately working out a package of spending cuts … For its part, the White House has said they are negotiating over the budget, not over the debt limit—but clearly, neither their Republican counterparts nor Democratic allies are acting like that’s really the case.” (“Dems Insisted They Wouldn’t Negotiate. Then Biden Started Negotiating.,” The Daily Beast, 5/25/2023)

• “In retrospect, the House passing that bill … was a pivotal moment for Republicans forcing Democrats to the negotiating table. And it’s a major reason Republicans have been able to hold out for a deal.” (“Dems Insisted They Wouldn’t Negotiate. Then Biden Started Negotiating.,” The Daily Beast, 5/25/2023)

‘Republicans Forced [President Biden] To The Table When They Passed The Limit, Save, Grow Bill’ And ‘The White House Has Had To Make Some Meaningful’ Concessions

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL EDITORIAL BOARD: “The deal is a significant victory for GOP priorities, in return for raising the debt ceiling that had to be raised anyway. Mr. Biden tried to jam the GOP into a clean debt increase, but Republicans forced him to the table when they passed the Limit, Save, Grow bill. The lesson is that political unity pays.” (Editorial, “A Debt-Ceiling Deal Worth Passing,” The Wall Street Journal, 5/29/2023)

NATIONAL REVIEW EDITORS: “It seemed possible that McCarthy wouldn’t be able to unite his caucus to pass anything and Republicans would get forced into eating a clean increase … Instead … McCarthy deftly got everyone on board a debt-ceiling measure with significant fiscal and other reforms. As soon as it passed, the White House was on its wrong foot, and its insistence that the president wouldn’t negotiate was made unsustainable. Rather than getting the clean deal that it deemed the only acceptable outcome, the White House has had to make some meaningful, if not decisive, concessions.” (Editorial, “The Modest Debt-Ceiling Deal,” National Review, 5/30/2023)

The Bipartisan Debt Limit Agreement Includes Multiple Significant Conservative Policy Reforms

LEADER McCONNELL: “The Speaker’s deal secures reductions in discretionary spending. But this topline achievement is just part of the story: House Republicans also succeeded in clawing back $28 billion dollars in unspent COVID emergency funds. They eliminated this year’s budget for hiring new IRS agents. And they expanded work requirements to put more Americans on sustainable paths out of poverty. They put an important down payment on permitting reform by imposing a shot clock on the costly bureaucratic review that hamstrings infrastructure projects.” (Sen. McConnell, Remarks, 5/30/2023)

NEW YORK POST EDITORIAL BOARD: “The voters have chosen divided government for now, so compromise is inevitable. Credit McCarthy with playing his cards well enough that this compromise is a lot closer to the GOP’s vision than the Dems’.” (Editorial, “Kevin McCarthy’s Debt-Limit Deal Is A Win For Republicans & The Nation,” New York Post, 5/29/2023)

Significant Welfare Reforms: ‘GOP Negotiators Held Out And Got Some Of The Biggest Concessions Over Work Requirements For Federal Aid In Decades’

SPEAKER McCARTHY: “We add new work requirements for adults without dependents who receive money from SNAP and TANF welfare programs. That will help beneficiaries contribute to society, develop their talents, lift themselves out of poverty and achieve financial freedom and personal success.” (House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Op-Ed, “Wasteful Government Doesn’t Have to Keep Growing,” The Wall Street Journal, 5/28/2023)

“Meeting a GOP priority, the deal increases work requirements on federal food stamps and on family welfare benefits.” (“Debt Ceiling Deal: Here Is What’s In And What’s Out,” The Washington Post, 5/29/2023)

• “The White House agreed to a key GOP demand: tightening work requirements for federal aid, primarily by temporarily raising the age of people who must work in order to receive food aid through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. The tentative deal would largely require able-bodied, low-income adults without dependents between the ages of 18 and 54 to work to receive food aid, up from the current top age of 49.” (“What’s In The Debt-Ceiling Deal,” The Wall Street Journal, 5/29/2023)

• “The changes to the family welfare benefits program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, will require states to ensure that a higher percentage of their welfare beneficiaries are working …” (“Debt Ceiling Deal: Here Is What’s In And What’s Out,” The Washington Post, 5/29/2023)

• THE WALL STREET JOURNAL EDITORIAL BOARD: “It cuts the annual number of exemptions that states can grant (to 8% of SNAP beneficiaries from 12%) and forces states to make public the data they use to justify waivers. It also makes it harder for states to rig work requirements in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.” (Editorial, “A Debt-Ceiling Deal Worth Passing,” The Wall Street Journal, 5/29/2023)

“GOP negotiators held out and got some of the biggest concessions over work requirements for federal aid in decades as a result. GOP lawmakers argue those work requirements will help grow the workforce and provide resources to older Americans to find jobs.” (“How SNAP Got Added To The Debt Deal,” Politico’s Morning Ag, 5/30/2023)

• “After yearslong attempts by Republicans, the deal included the biggest restrictions on SNAP since Biden voted for welfare reform when he was a senator in 1996.” (“How SNAP Got Added To The Debt Deal,” Politico’s Morning Ag, 5/30/2023)

Clawing Back Part Of Democrats’ IRS Slush Fund: ‘The Legislation Takes Aim At One Of President Biden’s Biggest Priorities — Bolstering The IRS’ And ‘Eliminates The Entire IRS Enforcement Increase This Year’

“The legislation takes aim at one of President Biden’s biggest priorities — bolstering the I.R.S…. The debt limit agreement would immediately rescind $1.38 billion from the I.R.S. and ultimately repurpose another $20 billion from the $80 billion it received through the Inflation Reduction Act…. The clawback will eat into the tax collection agency’s efforts to crack down … It is also a political win for Republicans, who have been outraged by the prospect of a beefed up I.R.S. …” (“New Details in Debt Limit Deal: Where $136 Billion in Cuts Will Come From,” The New York Times, 5/29/2023)

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL EDITORIAL BOARD: “[T]hat cut eliminates the entire IRS enforcement increase this year. Republicans can seek more IRS cuts next year, and Democrats may agree to rob the IRS kitty to restore money for their other priorities.” (Editorial, “A Debt-Ceiling Deal Worth Passing,” The Wall Street Journal, 5/29/2023)

A Down-Payment On Real Permitting Reform: ‘The First Significant Reforms To The Environmental-Review Process In More Than 40 Years,’ ‘A Top Priority For Republicans’

SPEAKER McCARTHY: “Another vital step is to streamline permitting. Our agreement achieves the first significant reforms to the environmental-review process in more than 40 years and will let us build more infrastructure, produce more energy in America, compete more effectively with China, and lower costs for families.” (House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Op-Ed, “Wasteful Government Doesn’t Have to Keep Growing,” The Wall Street Journal, 5/28/2023)

“The bill imposes a two-year timeline for the most complicated environmental reviews required for large-scale energy and infrastructure projects and gives project developers the right to sue to meet the deadline. Speeding up reviews, which currently take an average 4.5 years, has been a top priority for Republicans. The agreement also requires that a single federal agency take charge of a project’s environmental review, assuming responsibility for the review’s timeline. Right now, multiple agencies often perform their own, individual environmental assessments, which extends the review process.” (“What’s In The Debt-Ceiling Deal,” The Wall Street Journal, 5/29/2023)

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL EDITORIAL BOARD: “GOP negotiators also won the first statutory reforms to the National Environmental Policy Act since 1982. The deal sets a higher bar for projects subject to NEPA review, codifies a single lead agency on environmental reviews, and includes a one-year deadline for environmental assessments and two years for full environmental impact statements. Project applicants get a new right to sue if these deadlines are missed. Far more needs to be done to fix permitting, but Republicans were smart not to give Democrats easier renewable-energy transmission permits without wholesale NEPA reform.” (Editorial, “A Debt-Ceiling Deal Worth Passing,” The Wall Street Journal, 5/29/2023)

Expediting The Mountain Valley Natural Gas Pipeline: Helps ‘Support Domestic Energy’ And ‘Infuriates Climate Activists’

SEN. SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO (R-WV), Senate EPW Committee Ranking Member: “After working with Speaker McCarthy and reiterating what completing the Mountain Valley Pipeline would mean for American jobs and domestic energy production, I am thrilled it is included in the debt ceiling package that avoids default. Despite delay after delay, we continued to fight to get this critical natural gas pipeline up and running, and its inclusion in this deal is a significant victory for the future of West Virginia.” (U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Ranking Member, Press Release, 5/28/2023)

“[T]he debt ceiling deal includes provisions to expedite a major natural gas pipeline from West Virginia to Virginia …” (“Debt Ceiling Deal: Here Is What’s In And What’s Out,” The Washington Post, 5/29/2023)

• “The Mountain Valley Pipeline, which has been strongly opposed by environmental groups, would transport Appalachian shale gas about 300 miles from West Virginia to Virginia if built. The company has said it would carry 2 billion cubic feet of gas a day to help support domestic energy and liquefied natural gas …” (“Debt Ceiling Deal: Here Is What’s In And What’s Out,” The Washington Post, 5/29/2023)

“President Biden and House Republicans have agreed to expedite permitting for the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a project that is key to the West Virginia delegation … Environmentalists have fought the project since its inception, and the new provisions aims to block them from challenging almost all government approvals for the line to cut across federal forests and dozens of waterways in Appalachia’s hilly, wet terrain.” (“‘Terrible Public Policy’: Why The Debt Deal Infuriates Climate Activists,” The Washington Post, 5/29/2023)

• “The pipeline language is just one of a few energy and climate provisions in the deal, drawing ire from pipeline opponents and climate activists. The bill also proposes streamlining the landmark National Environmental Policy Act to limit its requirements on some projects, and studying the capacity of the country’s grid to transfer electricity from region to region.” (“‘Terrible Public Policy’: Why The Debt Deal Infuriates Climate Activists,” The Washington Post, 5/29/2023)

Rescinding Nearly $30 Billion Of Unspent COVID Money: ‘The Largest Spending Rescission In American History’

SPEAKER McCARTHY: “We also cut unnecessary spending. We slash $400 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Global Health Fund, which during the pandemic directed funds to countries like China. We claw back tens of billions of dollars in unspent Covid funds, making this the largest spending rescission in American history.” (House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Op-Ed, “Wasteful Government Doesn’t Have to Keep Growing,” The Wall Street Journal, 5/28/2023)

“The bill also claws back about $30 billion in unspent money from a previous Covid relief bill signed by Mr. Biden, which had been a top Republican priority entering negotiations.” (“New Details in Debt Limit Deal: Where $136 Billion in Cuts Will Come From,” The New York Times, 5/29/2023)