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A2 UP FRONT
Tuesday 25 april 2023
Speaker McCarthy faces big test as debt bill heads for vote

Continued from Front ning, the floor action is not
expected until Wednesday
The nation is teetering to- at the earliest.
ward a debt default crisis, Emmer said lawmakers
needing to lift the borrow- are still vying to tack on
ing cap to keep fully pay- their own priorities, but the
ing the bills in a matter of speaker’s office has made
weeks. it clear that the bill, as it now
“We’re going to vote on stands, is closed — mean-
this — this week — and ing no more changes.
we’re gonna pass this bill,” Republican lawmakers,
the Republican Whip Tom Emmer said, need to go
Emmer told The Associated through “whatever stages
Press in an interview Mon- of euphoria and grief they
day. have to go through,” be-
Even if McCarthy can fore it’s time for the roll call.
muscle the measure to “Your choice is you vote
passage this week, it has for this to move this for-
almost no chance of be- ward and do what’s in the
coming law. Biden and his best interest of the country
top congressional allies, or you give Joe Biden and
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer a blank
Chuck Schumer and House check,” Emmer said, mak-
Democratic Leader Ha- Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., holds an event to mark 100 days of the Republican ing his pitch to the holdouts.
keem Jeffries, say they are majority in the House, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, April 17, 2023. He noted about his job
unwilling to negotiate over Associated Press rounding up the votes: “Be
the debt ceiling. The House forced to respond to with week, and we will pass it,” also unsure they can sup- careful about getting into
Republican package is es- his own offer. Biden has McCarthy vowed in a Sun- port the deal, particularly a wrestling match with a
sentially dead on arrival in derided the Republicans’ day interview on Fox News. the loss of new tax cred- pig in a mud hole, because
the Democratic-controlled “wacko” ideas, but even The hard-right House Free- its for renewable energy after a while you might
Senate. some Democrats, including dom Caucus has yet to production that would be find out the pig is having a
At the White House, press Sen Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., bless McCarthy’s proposal rolled back. One person fa- good time.”
secretary Karine Jean- say it’s time to negotiate. — though key conserva- miliar with the situation said Among them, rolling back
Pierre said the legislative But first, the Republican tives who have bucked repealing the green energy federal spending to fiscal
package from the Republi- speaker faces the enor- the speaker, including Rep. tax breaks was not part of 2022 levels and imposing
cans is “cruel,” and would mous task of passing the Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., have the initial plan, but was a 1% cap on future spend-
hit Americans with steep package, uniting what his spoken favorably of it. Hav- added after some mem- ing growth for the next
and painful program cuts. team refers to as the “five ing gained much of what bers of the Freedom Cau- decade. It would impose
Still, McCarthy is trying to families” — the often war- he wanted, Gaetz said he cus insisted it be included. new work requirements for
force Democrats to bar- ring factions of conserva- is still trying to bolster the The GOP whip team under recipients of government
gain, hoping that muscling tives and far-right Repub- new work requirements for Emmer, R-Minn., is heav- aid and it would rescind
his own party’s proposal to licans that make up the those receiving some gov- ily counting the votes. With Biden’s proposal to forgive
passage will be an open- House GOP majority. ernment aid. the House not returning to up to $20,000 in student
ing bid that Biden will be “We will hold a vote this Yet other conservatives are work until late Tuesday eve- loan debt.q

Biden says teaching should not be

‘life-threatening’ job

able, from banned books lenges of the modern-day books.”Bills facilitating the
to duck-and-cover drills.” teacher, including gun restriction of books have
“Teaching should not be violence and a growing been proposed or passed
a life-threatening profes- movement from the right in Arizona, Iowa, Texas,
sion,” Biden said, referenc- to ban books in classrooms, Missouri and Oklahoma,
ing deadly school shoot- particularly those that ref- among other states.
ings that plague the United erence gender and sexual In Florida, where Gov. Ron
States. identity. Attempted book DeSantis has approved
“And educators should not bans hit an all-time high in laws to review reading ma-
President Joe Biden, accompanied by first lady Jill Biden,
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona and Rebecka Peterson, need to be armed to feel 2022. terials and limit classroom
2023 National Teacher of the Year, right, walks from the Oval safe in the classroom.” “I never thought, as a stu- discussion of gender iden-
Office to attend a ceremony honoring the Council of Chief State He spoke at a Rose Gar- dent of history, I’d be a tity and race, books pulled
School Officers' 2023 Teachers of the Year in the Rose Garden of den event that honored president that’s fighting indefinitely or temporar-
the White House, Monday, April 24, 2023, in Washington. the Council of Chief State against elected officials ily include John Green’s
Associated Press School Officers’ 2023 banning books,” he said. “Looking for Alaska,” Col-
By JOSH BOAK and Monday, saying they go teachers of the year from “Empty shelves don’t help leen Hoover’s “Hopeless,”
COLLEEN LONG above and beyond by pro- each state. Tulsa, Oklaho- kids learn very much.” He Margaret Atwood’s dys-
Associated Press viding food and supplies ma, math teacher Rebec- said parents and teachers topian novel “The Hand-
WASHINGTON (AP) — Presi- out of their own pockets ka Peterson was named should stand up against maid’s Tale” and Grace
dent Joe Biden honored and often find themselves overall teacher of the year. “politicians who try to score Lin’s picture story “Dim Sum
the nation’s best teachers “explaining the unexplain- Biden spoke of the chal- political points by banning for Everyone!”q