AOC Opposed to Debt Ceiling Compromise – Republicans and Democrats must reach a deal on the debt ceiling and reconcile their approaches before June when Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Congress the federal government would hit its debt ceiling. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – or AOC – argues that Democrats should not compromise.
“In my view, definitely not but even if you wanted to negotiate, Republicans are too much of a mess right now to do so,” Ocasio-Cortez posted on her Instagram story. “Republicans can’t even get their own party behind one plan, let alone both parties. Negotiating with that is like trying to nail jello to a tree. What is there to even negotiate?”
There is nearly universal agreement among economists worldwide that with no compromise and if America did indeed default on its debt, a deep recession would take place – or something even far worse like a global depression.
AOC and a Debt Ceiling Showdown
Speaker Kevin McCarthy unveiled his “Limit, Save, Grow Act” plan on Wednesday that pegs federal discretionary spending at fiscal year 2022 levels. It cuts projected spending growth by $4.5 trillion under the current baseline. It also would return unspent COVID funds to the U.S. Treasury, cancel Green energy tax credits favored by Democrats, including AOC, and orders the Secretary of the Interior to resume oil-drilling leases on federal land.
All of these items are non-starters for the Democrats.
“McCarthy is a mess. Which of course is how this whole thing started. The situation is very concerning honestly because mess or not the GOP was elected to govern, and they really cannot,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Instagram.
It seems Democrats have other priorities as well. Ocasio-Cortez reintroduced her Green New Deal together with Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Ed Markey with the aim of ending fossil-fuel consumption.
Not Just AOC: More Drama Has Arrived
AOC is not the only Democrat who is not taking McCarthy’s plan seriously. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed that it would be dead as soon as it hits the Democrat-controlled Senate.
“The biggest losers in Speaker McCarthy’s agenda are parents, kids, law enforcement, small business, countless others who work hard every single day to make ends meet,” Schumer said.
President Joe Biden likewise expressed an unwillingness to compromise on his $6.9 trillion plan.
“Guess what? He’s attempting to try to make [default] happen now,” Biden said after McCarthy unveiled his plan. “Massive cuts to programs you count on. Massive benefits protected for those at the top.”
Biden slammed the GOP plan for allegedly “finding ways to squeeze out more of America’s middle class.”
West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., applauded McCarthy and denounced the president’s partisan intransigence.
“I applaud Speaker McCarthy for putting forward a proposal that would prevent default and rein in federal spending. While I do not agree with everything proposed, the fact of the matter is that it is the only bill actually moving through Congress that would prevent default,” Manchin said. “For the sake of the country, I urge President Biden to come to the table, propose a plan for real and substantive spending cuts and deficit reduction, and negotiate now.”
McCarthy rebutted Biden in a post on Twitter, saying that he was worried about how Biden was handling the debt ceiling.
“He’s ignoring it. He is walking us into some kind of debt problem because he is just ignoring the problem. I’m worried about the next generation. We’re at 120% of GDP in debt. We’ve only been here during World War II,” McCarthy said. “That means our debt is larger than our economy with another 20% added onto it.”
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