A ‘Productive’ High-Level Debt Limit Meeting; Milcon-VA on Hold

May 23, 2023

Negotiations were set to continue through the night with about eight days left until the federal government is projected to reach its statutory debt limit. Here’s what to know about Monday’s developments, based on media reports:

  • House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said his Monday evening meeting with President Biden was “productive.” There’s no deal yet, but “I believe we can get it done,” McCarthy told reporters.
  • “We reiterated once again that default is off the table and the only way to move forward is in good faith toward a bipartisan agreement,” Biden said in a statement after the meeting.
  • The main sticking point is setting spending levels for fiscal year 2024. Republicans are insisting that a debt limit increase be paired with spending cuts or caps. The White House had initially called for a clean debt limit increase.
  • Because spending levels are still up in the air, House appropriators canceled four markups scheduled for this week, including today’s Military Construction-VA bill markup.

White House Instagram photo

May 23, 2023

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