Debt Deal Raises Military Spending & OKs WV Pipeline While Introducing Work Rules for Food Stamps

President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are urging lawmakers to support a deal to suspend the debt ceiling until January 1, 2025, in order to prevent the United States from defaulting on its debt for the first time in history. The two leaders reached a tentative agreement over the Memorial Day long weekend, but it must still be approved by Congress before a June 5 deadline, when the government is expected to run out of money to pay its bills. Both progressive lawmakers and the far-right House Freedom Caucus members have expressed some opposition to the deal, which calls for non-defense discretionary spending to remain mostly flat while boosting military spending by about 3%. New work requirements would be established for some recipients of federal aid programs, and it cuts funding to the IRS and lifts a moratorium on student loan payments in place since the pandemic. The deal also speeds up the approval and construction of the proposed $6.6 billion Mountain Valley Pipeline in Virginia and West Virginia. Democracy Now! speaks with Lindsay Owens, executive director of the Groundwork Collaborative and a former policy adviser to Senator Elizabeth Warren.

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