Speaker Kevin McCarthy made changes to his US debt limit bill overnight, bowing to the demands of a small number of Republican lawmakers.
(Bloomberg) — Speaker Kevin McCarthy made changes to his US debt limit bill overnight, bowing to the demands of a small number of Republican lawmakers.
The House Rules Committee amended the bill to restore a few tax breaks for biofuels and investments that would have been cut, after fierce opposition from Midwestern lawmakers.
The move came just hours after McCarthy declared to reporters he was not entertaining any changes to the measure, which would raise the US debt limit by $1.5 trillion. A vote on the bill could come as soon as late Wednesday.
McCarthy told reporters Wednesday he was now confident the bill would pass later in the day.
But it is not yet clear if McCarthy has the votes he needs even with the changes. Some lawmakers like Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Andy Biggs of Arizona and Tim Burchett of Tennessee had been opposed, saying the level of cuts was too small.
McCarthy has said he hopes passage of the bill will pressure President Joe Biden into talks over raising the borrowing cap, with a possible US payment default looming as soon as June without congressional agreement.
New Provisions
To balance the loss of savings from the fresh compromise, the bill makes would cancel additional funding from last year’s climate law.
The amendment also accelerates new work requirements for food stamp and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families recipients so that they take effect in 2024 rather than 2025, a key demand of Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida and other conservatives who had threatened to vote “no.”
The amendment also contains language clarifying that one of the goals of the food stamps program is to increase work by participants.
Credits for carbon oxide sequestration and incentives for biodiesel, renewable diesel, alternative fuels and second generation biofuel would be fully restored. A sustainable aviation fuel credit and the clean fuel production credit would be allowed for investments made between August 2022 and April 19, 2023.
The approach would effectively grandfather in some sustainable aviation fuel ventures announced in the wake of the Inflation Reduction Act. Beneficiaries are likely to include Gevo Inc., World Energy, Valero Energy Corp., Darling Ingredients Inc., and other producers that inked contracts and started building facilities after the law was enacted.
–With assistance from Jennifer A. Dlouhy.
(Updates with McCarthy in fourth paragraph. An earlier version corrected the specifics of the changes in the bill on funding cancellations and deadline changes.)
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