President Joe Biden said Thursday he'd be willing to meet again with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., to discuss budgetary measures for the next fiscal year. House Republicans reportedly are set to reject the president's budget proposal of $6.8 trillion.
"The fact is the speaker of the House is a very conservative guy, and he has an even more conservative group with him," said Biden, while speaking at a union hall in Philadelphia. "But he and I met early on. He said, 'What are we going to do about the budget?' I said, 'Let's make a deal. Let's meet. I'm going to introduce my budget on [Thursday]; you introduce yours; we'll sit down and go line by line."
The president continued: "I want to make it clear: I'm ready to meet with the speaker anytime — tomorrow, if he has his budget. Lay it down; tell me what you want to do. I'll show you what I want to do. See what we can agree on, what we don't agree on."
According to reports, the White House budget proposal includes an increase on the tax rate for billionaires and corporations, as a means of extending Medicare funding for at least a quarter century.
Also, the Biden budget would reportedly restore the child tax credit and cement permanent tax credits for programs related to the Affordable Care Act and national paid leave.
In reaction to Biden's proposal, McCarthy tweeted: "He proposes trillions in new taxes that you and your family will pay directly or through higher costs. Mr. President: Washington has a spending problem, NOT a revenue problem."
Also on Thursday, Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., tweeted: "Joe Biden's $6.9 TRILLION budget proposal continues us on the downward economic spiral of more taxes, more debt, more inflation. House Republicans will FIGHT to stop this reckless plan by putting forward a budget that actually works FOR Americans, not against them."
Given how the House Republicans control the proverbial purse strings of the U.S. government, they'll likely have a major say in approving any budget proposals from the White House.
The same holds true for the looming debt-ceiling crisis that could come to a head sometime in June — if Republicans and Democrats cannot negotiate a way to avoid defaulting on America's financial obligations for the coming year, without adding to the country's spiraling debt of approximately $31.6 trillion.
Biden and McCarthy both expressed optimism about their February budget meeting. But the speaker told reporters this week that he's still waiting for another White House invitation.
According to The Hill, Biden and other White House officials have said that without a transparent budget, the public cannot know whether House Republicans want to cut Social Security, Medicare, the Affordable Care Act, and other social safety net programs.
McCarthy has previously indicated that the above cuts would be "off the table."
Last month, during Biden's State of the Union address, several Republicans vehemently opposed the president's suggestion they supported cutting entitlement programs.
"If MAGA Republicans are using the threat of default for the first time in history, they're risking America's health and security; it's dangerous," said Biden.
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