West Virginia Sens. Manchin, Capito urge Biden to negotiate on debt ceiling

WASHINGTON (WV News) — Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito are calling on President Joe Biden to negotiate with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy over the federal debt limit.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned that the nation could default on its debt as soon as June 1 unless a compromise is reached on government spending.

Manchin, a Democrat, issued a statement asking Biden to meet with McCarthy while there’s still time.

“I hope President Biden’s invitation to congressional leaders is sincere and he is genuinely willing to negotiate, because the country cannot afford a failed negotiation,” Manchin said. “Every day without action brings the American government closer to default and the American people closer to economic chaos. I urge President Biden to show true leadership and finally put politics aside and the well-being of our nation first.”

Capito, vice chair of the Senate Republican Conference, discussed the situation during the weekly Senate Republican Leadership press conference.

“I’m glad he’s come to the table,” she said of the president. “There is a way to find a solution. But it can’t be one way, and the other side has no way to do it.

“I think it’s time for the president to lead and negotiate with Speaker McCarthy,” she said.

Information released by the White House calls McCarthy’s debt ceiling proposal, which passed the House at the end of April by a vote of 217 to 215, an “extreme bill that would cut veterans’ health care, jeopardize public safety and raise costs for families — even as House Republicans separately push for trillions in tax cuts skewed to the wealthy and big corporations.”

According to a West Virginia-specific fact sheet, the proposal would mean “at least $480 million fewer federal grant dollars invested in West Virginia.”

The House Republicans’ proposal would have a wide array of negative impacts on the Mountain State, according to the White House.

It would result in “30 million fewer outpatient visits for our nation’s veterans all across the country. That means 94,700 veterans could lose access to outpatient visits in West Virginia, leaving them unable to get appointments for care like wellness visits, mental health services and substance disorder treatment,” the sheet reads.