As House Republicans’ $4.8 trillion debt-limit package hangs in the balance, Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and his top lieutenants made several concessions in order to secure enough votes to pass the Limit, Save, Grow Act.
The changes, aimed at winning over holdout Midwestern Republicans who threatened to sink the bill, were the result of a marathon House Rules Committee meeting that stretched into early Wednesday morning, and include an amendment which softens a provision repealing several biofuel tax credits, according to Punchbowl News.
2) After signaling he was resistent to changes of the bill, McCarthy altered provisions to ethanol tax credits to please midwestern Republicans. Especially the Iowa delegation.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) April 26, 2023
McCarthy can only lose four Republican votes and pass the measure, which he hopes will kick off negotiations with President Joe Biden and Democratic leaders.
The House GOP leadership, which promised regular order and a floor open to amendments, made just one amendment in order: a tweak to the Limit, Save and Grow Act that, among other things, puts in place new work requirements for 2024 instead of 2025. Party leaders had previously said that change was unworkable.
More importantly, McCarthy’s leadership team eliminated the repeal of three biofuel tax credits. For the remaining two — created by the Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act — the GOP said they didn’t apply to taxpayers who made investment decisions based on the credits. -Punchbowl News
Meanwhile, McCarthy’s drafted amendment pulls funding from the Inflation Reduction Act for green building construction, DoE loan guarantees, deferred maintenance for national parks, air pollution for states and municipalities, as well as a neighborhood access and equity grant program.
More on the cuts:
4) Fox was told overnight by one senior Republican source that McCarthy was “trying to pull a rabbit out of a hat.”
It remains to be seen if he has.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) April 26, 2023
We’ll know more after today’s 9am closed-party meeting, however as of late Tuesday night there were several holdouts remaining, including GOP Reps. Tim Burchett (TN) and Matt Gaetz (FL) as staunch No’s, Scott Perry (PA), Andy Biggs (AZ) as ‘non-committal’ and ‘skeptical,’ and Reps. Matt Rosendale (MT), Eli Crane (AZ) and Nancy Mace (SC) – the latter of whom told reporters she’s “still a no.”
“I’m a hard no,” Tim Burchett told us. Biggs signals he’s a NO. So does Gaetz. Nancy Mace told me: “I’m still a no.” Iowa members mum.
McCarthy can’t lose more than four Rs on debt limit package— Manu Raju (@mkraju) April 25, 2023
Going deeper (via Punchbowl News):
Gripes from conservatives are nothing new for McCarthy. Remember January? Republican hardliners are known to get everything they want and still bellyache. CBO says this proposal cuts spending by $4.8 trillion over the next decade — which is exactly what conservatives want. But they’re still balking.
The Iowans, generally team players in the House GOP, have been the most difficult pocket to mollify. Party leaders underestimated the mettle of the four-person Iowa delegation and their unwillingness to roll back Democratic-passed tax breaks for the ethanol industry.
The operating theory inside leadership ranks was that Iowa Reps. Ashley Hinson, Zach Nunn, Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Randy Feenstra were team players, so they’d kowtow to McCarthy when he asked. But the Hawkeye State Republicans, led by Hinson, didn’t back down under pressure from the leadership. In fact, the leadership backed down.
Remember: Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is 89 years old. Hinson is 39, Nunn is 43, and Feenstra is 54. All of these House Republicans may be looking at the Senate as a viable next step.
McCarthy and other senior Republicans remain confident that they’ll pass the measure by week’s end. They note today will be the first time in weeks that House GOP lawmakers will all be in the same room.
“I think we’re doing well. I think we’re doing fine,” said House Majority Whip Tom Emmer Tuesday night. “It just depends on when the speaker decides he’s ready to go.”
Tyler Durden
Wed, 04/26/2023 – 08:45
