President Joe Biden hasn’t focused a lot of public attention on the Republicans’ debt ceiling threats lately, but the Democrat sent an unexpected shot across the GOP’s bow via social media yesterday afternoon.
“We’ve paid America’s bills for 200 years,” Biden wrote. “Now, House Republicans want to play politics with the full faith and credit of the United States — threatening to default on our debt unless they get their way. I won’t let them take away Americans’ health care to balance their budget.”
As the Associated Press reported, the president is taking a similar message to a Virginia audience today.
President Joe Biden is aiming to use the leadup to the release of his proposed budget next week to sketch a dire picture of what could happen to U.S. health care if congressional Republicans had their way with federal spending. The Democratic president is traveling to Virginia Beach, Virginia, on Tuesday to discuss potential GOP efforts to cut spending on health care, part of a broader presidential push this week to draw a strong contrast between his administration’s priorities and those of Republicans.
At first blush, this might seem premature. GOP leaders have launched debt ceiling threats, telling the White House that Republicans will cause a deliberate economic catastrophe unless their demands are met, but for now, their ransom note remains blank. GOP officials expect some kind of payment, but they’ve largely refused to say what exactly would satisfy them.
So why is Biden calling out Republicans’ regressive health care plans? Because the GOP hasn’t been entirely silent. Bloomberg News reported earlier this month:
Republicans on the House Budget Committee on Wednesday floated a list of sample budget cuts they could back in exchange for raising the nation’s debt ceiling. … [The proposed ideas] include stronger work requirements for able-bodied adults on food stamps and welfare, capping Obamacare subsidies at a lower income level,…
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