Proposed US Debt Ceiling Deal To Include Spending Caps, Changes To Welfare Requirements

Muhammad Irfan Published May 29, 2023 | 07:17 PM

The new bipartisan debt ceiling deal reached by US President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will put a cap on non-defense discretionary spending, introduce welfare work requirements, and retrieve some of the unused COVID-19 relief funds, according to the text of the proposed legislation

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 29th May, 2023) The new bipartisan debt ceiling deal reached by US President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will put a cap on non-defense discretionary spending, introduce welfare work requirements, and retrieve some of the unused COVID-19 relief funds, according to the text of the proposed legislation.

The president announced on Sunday that the plan was now ready to go to Congress and urged both chambers to pass it. Biden said that the agreement "takes the catastrophic threat of default off the table" and protects US economic recovery. He reiterated that the agreement is a compromise, and not everyone got what they wanted.

The bill gives the Biden administration $704 billion for non-defense spending, keeping more or less flat in 2024 while increasing it by 1% to $711 billion in 2025. At the same time, it gives the White House the proposed $886 billion in defense spending in 2024 and will bump it to $895 billion the following year.

The bill also changes work requirements for able-bodied adults using the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), gradually adding higher age limits to the maximum of 54 by 2025. This measure, however, is set to expire by 2030, bringing the maximum age back to 49.

The bill rescinds roughly $30 billion in unobligated COVID-19 aid funds.

The document aims to streamline the process of environmental reviews by having a lead agency oversee the preparation of an environmental document for any particular energy project. It also expedites the completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline in West Virginia.

The United States is teetering on the brink of a default on its obligations if the White House fails to get Republicans in Congress to agree to raise the nation's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling.