AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine’s congressional delegation is saying relatively little on the debt ceiling deal that President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached over the weekend in hopes of avoiding a federal default.
The 99-page bill released Sunday after weeks of failed attempts on Capitol Hill at reaching consensus would suspend the nation’s debt ceiling through 2025 and limit government spending.
It includes provisions to fund medical care veterans, change work requirements for some recipients of government aid and streamline environmental reviews for energy projects. It also would rescind about $30 billion in unspent COVID-19 relief money and take away about $1.4 billion in IRS funding, among additional parts of the bill.
The most outspoken member of Maine’s congressional delegation when it comes to the debt ceiling debate has been U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, a Democrat representing the 2nd District who previously pitched his own debt ceiling plan in hopes of ending the stalemate.
But he offered little on the new bill Tuesday morning, with a spokesperson saying Golden “is reading the text and analyzing its fiscal impact before making any further statement.”
The bill needs to gain the support of enough members of Congress by June 5, when the U.S. could otherwise default on its debt obligations. The national debt stands at more than $31 trillion.
McCarthy, the California Republican, said the GOP-controlled House will vote on the bill Wednesday before the Democratic-controlled Senate considers it. An initial test was also expected Tuesday afternoon, when the House Rules Committee was scheduled to take up the measure.
The most substantive statement on the 99-page bill from Maine’s delegation came from U.S. Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats.
King commended McCarthy and Biden “for proceeding with these negotiations in good faith.”
“From initial scanning of the bill, there were concessions made that I disagree with, and things that are good news for many Americans,” King said. “This is what compromise looks like in a divided government. The most important part of this agreement is that it will hopefully allow us to avoid a devastating economic meltdown through an avoidable default.”
Before the Biden-McCarthy deal came to fruition, Golden had released his own proposal that capped discretionary spending at 2022 levels but adjusted it for inflation while including a mix of spending cuts and tax increases both on wealthier Americans and corporations to stabilize the national debt.
That pitch from Golden garnered some national headlines but little support from lawmakers, with the National Republican Congressional Committee bashing him for voting against an earlier debt ceiling proposal from McCarthy.
U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Democrat representing Maine’s 1st District, is “reviewing the details of the deal in advance of the vote this week,” a spokesperson said.
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, the vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, did not immediately respond Tuesday morning to a request for her position on the bill.
