WASHINGTON — On Wednesday, U.S. lawmakers are set to vote on a bill that would suspend the debt limit through 2025, avoiding a default and allowing the U.S. economy to continue as it has.
Congressman Tim Burchett's office (R - TN) said he did not have a comment on how he plans to vote, and said he is taking time to read through the 99-page bill. He previously voted against a separate proposal that would have raised the debt ceiling but also would have implemented more stringent spending cuts.
Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R - TN) voted for that bill.
"We are watching this process, we are monitoring this process, we will be voting to raise the debt ceiling. Do not be unduly concerned about your benefits," he said.
The bill would allot $704 billion for nondefense spending and match President Joe Biden's proposed defense budget of $886 billion. The bill would also require Congress to approve 12 annual spending cuts.
Medical care for veterans would be maintained at the same levels Biden proposed in his 2024 budget blueprint. It would also include a $20.3 billion fund for veterans who were exposed to toxic substances and environmental hazards.
However, the bill would take away money originally meant for the IRS to be used to crack down on tax fraud — around $1.4 billion.
The agreement would also rescind about $30 billion in unspent coronavirus relief money that Congress approved through previous bills. It claws back unobligated money from dozens of federal programs that received aid during the pandemic, including rental assistance, small business loans and broadband for rural areas.
The legislation protects pandemic funding for veterans’ medical care, housing assistance, the Indian Health Service, and some $5 billion for a program focused on rapidly developing the next generation of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.
However, it increases work requirements for people receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. It would bring the work requirement's maximum age up to 54 by 2025. However, the change would expire five years later in 2030.
It would also make it harder for states to waive work requirements, lowering the number of exemptions a state can issue and limiting states' ability to carry over the number of exemptions month-to-month.
The agreement would also make changes to the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program, which gives cash aid to families with children. It would adjust a credit that allows states to require fewer recipients to work, updating and readjusting the credit to make it harder for states to avoid.
The deal puts in place changes in the National Environmental Policy Act for the first time in nearly four decades that would designate “a single lead agency” to develop and schedule environmental reviews.
The bill also gives special treatment to the Mountain Valley Pipeline — a West Virginia natural gas pipeline championed by Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito — by approving all its outstanding permit requests.
The bill would also bring an end to a pause on student loan payments, restarting the requirement for borrowers to pay back student loans. The pause is expected to formally end in late August.