Rep. Bice says GOP knows debt ceiling deal NOT a ‘final product’ as backdoor discussions continue

Main Street Caucus Vice Chair Stephanie Bice is confident the House will pass a debt ceiling with input from members of her group, who are more amenable to discussions with leaders than the far-right Freedom Caucus, though she acknowledges that the proposed deal will not being the ‘end product’ in a divided government.

The caucus was at the center of initial discussions on the debt ceiling negotiations and praised the proposal released this week by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

McCarthy’s proposal would limit spending in 2024 to fiscal year 2022 levels and then limit growth to 1 percent per year, which he says will save $4.5 trillion. It would also withdraw unused Covid-19 funds, ban student loan forgiveness, remove some green tax credits and introduce stricter employment requirements for social programs.

Last week, the Main Street Caucus released a list of its own priorities for leadership to consider in a debt ceiling deal, many of which were included in the package.

Bice, R-Okla., said the “plan” is to get the debt ceiling package across the finish line next week, and that the GOP House leadership team is “pretty confident” about having the votes for final passage.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., released a proposed debt ceiling this week

Will this be the final product? Probably not, and we acknowledge that. But it definitely has to be a starting point,” Bice told DailyMail.com on Thursday.

Speaker McCarthy and [Whip] Tom Bucket and [Deputy Whip] Guy Reschenthaler has spent hours and hours and hours with members of all factions hearing the voices of those you know what happened in this discussion,” Bice said.

She also stated that the Main Street Caucus, which currently has 70 members, is not another “moderate group” as it is often erroneously referred to.

Bice said Rep. Dusty Johnson, RS.D., the chairman, is from a deeply Republican state, and the members are, for the most part, extremely conservative.

“We have a wide variety of members from across the political ideology of the Republican side who are part of this group,” explains Bice, who says the caucus is very conservative in their ideology, but more amenable to discussion with leaders than the Freedom Caucus.

“But I think I’m excited to be part of the Main Street group because I think it gives us the opportunity to maybe have a voice at the table that’s very conservative, but not a Freedom Caucus voice.”

Bice says the caucus is “still respectful” of others in the group who may have slightly different points of view but are working together toward the same goals.

Turning to debt ceiling negotiations, Bice said that despite a divided administration, Republicans “want to come around the table and work together to find a solution.”

Rep. Scott Perry is the head of the far-right Freedom Caucus, which has been a thorn in McCarthy’s side

McCarthy gave a speech on Monday to Wall Street traders, CEOs and other financial leaders urging debt ceiling negotiations with the Biden administration, which has pulled out of the process over opposition to cuts proposed by the GOP.

“Yes,” McCarthy replied when asked directly by DailyMail.com if he has the votes in his narrow 222-213 GOP majority to approve a package that would raise the debt limit through 2024.

“We talked about it and it all comes together,” the speaker continued. “And we see that the Republicans are willing to act where the president doesn’t really want to act.”

It remains to be seen if McCarthy can unite all of the GOP’s “Five Family” factions, including the far-right Freedom Caucus, which has been a thorn in the speaker’s side, starting with his dragged-out leadership voice.

The speaker emphasized that the purpose of his speech at the New York Stock Exchange, which referenced a speech by former President Ronald Reagan in 1985 on the economy, was to “inform” Wall Street about what is actually happening in Washington, D.C., about negotiations. — who haven’t progressed in months.

“Well, it was just to inform them that the president ignored this for 75 days. I think it’s important, especially as we take on this challenge, that they know exactly what’s going on,” he told DailyMail.com.