Debt Ceiling Clock Ticking

As talks continue to reach agreement on raising the debt ceiling limit and avoid catastrophic economic fallout, NTEU today reminded the president and congressional leadership of the importance of quick resolution without cuts to agency budgets or employees’ pay and benefits.

In letters to President Biden and House and Senate leaders, NTEU detailed the real-world impacts of budget cuts to the work of federal agencies. National President Tony Reardon also noted that “Time and again, when faced with tough negotiations over funding and priorities, federal employees take the brunt of the impact, often by being subjected to pay freezes or being forced to pay more for their retirement benefits.”

There are just seven days remaining until June 1, when the Treasury Secretary has said the United States may not be able to pay on debts already owed.

Meanwhile, House Republicans continue to demand steep cuts and rollbacks of existing funding in exchange for increasing the debt limit. Last month, the Republican majority passed a bill to temporarily increase the debt limit in exchange for capping FY 2024 funding to last year’s level, severely limiting future increases, and rescinding more than $71 billion of the $80 billion provided to the IRS in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA). 

One option to prevent a default is the House Democrats’ discharge petition to circumvent regular House procedures and force a vote on a clean debt limit increase bill if needed. The petition requires 218 votes to release the bill from committee and start the process for a vote in the full House. Yesterday, it was announced that all 213 House Democrats have signed the discharge petition, meaning they now would need five Republicans to sign the petition to move it forward.  

It is critical that Congress act to suspend or raise the debt limit to prevent a default, but NTEU strongly opposes tying the debt limit to funding cuts in FY 2024 and future years and rescinding billions in dedicated funding for the IRS under the IRA.

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