Policy Backgrounders

New Proposals on the Debt Ceiling

April 21, 2023

On Wednesday, Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) disclosed the framework of the long-awaited Republican bill to raise the debt ceiling and cut federal spending. Earlier in the week in a major speech, McCarthy said that Republicans would not permit a government default. But the Speaker also signaled hard bargaining on spending cuts and policy changes. Meanwhile, the House Problem Solvers Caucus, which has an equal number of Democratic and Republican members, released their compromise bill. The Problem Solvers bill contains a number of proposals that are similar to CED’s recommendations on how to tackle the outsized US national debt burden, including the establishment of a bipartisan commission to address comprehensively the fiscal health challenges before the nation.