Biden hints work requirements for are STILL on the table in debt ceiling talks
Biden hints job requirements STILL on the table in debt ceiling talks: Joe risks infuriating the left by suggesting stricter rules on benefits could be carried over in negotiations as he flies to Japan for the G7
- Biden left for Japan on a trip he cut short due to debt talks
- He said he was “confident” that the US would avoid a default
- He said he said changes in work requirements would not be “effectual.”
President Joe Biden left the White House for his trip to Japan — after leaving the door open to giving in to some Republican-backed work demands for aid recipients during budget talks, he called “prolific.”
Biden made the farewell remark in response to a question, two days after calling on Republicans for a “wish list” that “a million older adults would be at risk of losing their food aid and going hungry.”
On Wednesday, after making comments about avoiding a government default, Biden said, “Well, I’m not going to accept job requirements that will affect people’s medical health needs” — a comment that seemed to lessen the tablework requirements for Medicaid recipients.
“I’m not going to accept job requirements that go way beyond what’s already out there…I voted years ago for job requirements that are out there.” But it’s possible there are a few more, but nothing of interest,” Biden told reporters in DC, announcing minutes before his trip that he was quitting amid the high-stakes negotiations.
President Joe Biden said before leaving for Japan that he would not accept new job requirements for benefits that “go well beyond” what already exists. He said there would be no new ones of “consequence.” The Republican budget imposes new demands and led to opposition from progressives in the House
The Republican budget, which Biden has repeatedly attacked, would increase work requirements for a range of federal aid programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP program.
The SNAP program already requires able-bodied recipients who are under age 50 and have no children to work 20 hours per week or participate in vocational training.
Members of the left of the House Democratic Caucus have quashed the potential move. Among them are Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Representative Pramila Jayapal of California, who called it a “terrible idea.”
The president also addressed his decision to cancel the planned second half of his trip. He would travel from Hiroshima, where the leaders of the G7 meet, to Papua New Guinea and Australia.
The leaders of the “Quad” countries – which include the US, Japan, Australia and India – would still meet in Japan.
Biden also said he would hold a “press conference on this issue” to address the debt ceiling and budget. He usually answers questions in a formal setting at some point during an overseas trip, although he did not do so on his recent trip to Ireland.
Aides to Biden and speaker Kevin McCarthy try to negotiate budget deal amid looming bankruptcy if Congress doesn’t raise debt ceiling
The House Republican budget imposes new job requirements on SNAP recipients. Nearly 30 million Americans who received additional government assistance with grocery bills during the pandemic will soon see that assistance dwindle
He also insisted that the negotiations be about the budget, not raising the debt ceiling — something he said Congress should do to pay off debt incurred in the past.
If Congress does not raise the $31 trillion debt limit, the country would default.
Biden called Tuesday’s talks, which gave way to staff talks on Tuesday night, “civil and respectful.”
He said, “Everybody came to the meeting, I think, in good faith. I am confident that if America does not default, we will get a budget agreement,” he said.
The White House blasted the House GOP budget in an official board statement last month.
“It would jeopardize food assistance for many older Americans and cause millions of people to lose their Medicaid coverage, including working people and people with disabilities.”