Freedom Caucus leader warns: Don't attach Harvey aid to debt-ceiling increase
Source: The Washington Post
By Mike DeBonis and Damian Paletta August 31 at 10:23 PM
The leader of an influential group of House conservatives warned GOP leaders Thursday not to attach aid for victims of Hurricane Harvey to an increase in the federal debt limit, a stance that could constrain Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) as he tries to win support over the coming weeks for several controversial must-pass measures.
The warning from Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, came as White House and congressional leaders discussed a plan to immediately pump about $6 billion into federal disaster relief efforts. President Trump could send a specific request for the funding as soon as Friday, people briefed on the discussions said.
A debt-ceiling increase could be attached to the bill, those people said, to win broader support for that divisive measure ahead of a Sept. 29 deadline. But Meadows, who leads a group of hard-liners that has frequently frustrated House Republican leaders, said attaching Harvey aid to a debt-ceiling increase would be a “terrible idea” that would be “conflating two very different issues.”
“The Harvey relief would pass on its own, and to use that as a vehicle to get people to vote for a debt ceiling is not appropriate,” he said in an interview. “That sends all the wrong message: ‘Let’s go ahead and increase the debt ceiling, and by the way, while we’re doing it let’s go ahead and spend another $15, $20 billion?’ That’s not to undercut the importance of Harvey relief. We’re going to fund Harvey relief without a doubt, but I think it just sends the wrong message when you start attaching it to the debt ceiling.”
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/freedom-caucus-leader-warns-dont-attach-harvey-aid-to-debt-ceiling-increase/2017/08/31/6b53ebc6-8e58-11e7-91d5-ab4e4bb76a3a_story.html
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