Kevin McCarthy promised significant cuts, and he didn’t deliver. He promised massive work requirements and failed, all while giving President Biden the framework that he wanted.
The deal would raise the borrowing limit, which is currently $31.4 trillion, for two years — enough to get past the next presidential election.
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According to a person familiar with the agreement, it also would impose new work requirements for some recipients of government aid, including food stamps and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. It would place new limits on the amount of time that certain recipients of food stamps — people under the age of 54, who do not have children — could benefit from the program. But it also would expand food stamp access for veterans and the homeless, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss details of the package.
The Work Requirement That Kevin McCarthy Got Applies To 7% of SNAP Recipients
The vast majority of food stamp recipients are children, seniors, and persons with disabilities.
The work requirement that McCarthy got applies to virtually no one on SNAP:
Pre-pandemic data show that nearly 90 percent of participants are in households with a child under age 18, an adult age 60 or older, or an individual who is disabled. Children under age 18 constitute nearly half (44 percent) of all SNAP participants. About two-thirds of SNAP participants are in families with children; over one-third are in households with older adults or disabled people. Nearly half of SNAP households are headed by a non-Latino white person, about one-quarter by a non-Latino Black person, and more than one-fifth by a Latinx person (of any race). And about 7 percent of SNAP households are headed by a person who is Asian or another race.
Biden Got SNAP Expanded And A 2 Year Debt Limit Hike
Kevin McCarthy got virtually nothing. The spending freeze is something that the White House proposed weeks ago, and Republicans have now given up all of their leverage on the debt limit.
Biden actually got SNAP expanded. Republicans thought they were going to hold the President hostage, but they came away with virtually nothing. All McCarthy negotiated were some token victories.
House Republicans would have to be insane to vote for this deal. It contains virtually nothing that they passed in their debt limit bill.
Kevin McCarthy is trying to spin it, but he cut a deal that should cost him his job.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association