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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democrats have said this is a nonstarter and that Congress should pass a, quote, 'clean bill' to lift the debt ceiling and then negotiate on spending. GRISALES: So although this legislation heads to the Senate, it is considered DOA there. And he went on to argue that Republican presidents would not let this debt limit standoff get this far. GRISALES: So he has said that he will meet to talk about spending but is keeping the debt limit conversation separate. PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Happy to meet with McCarthy, but not on whether or not the debt limit gets extended. And yesterday, following a bilateral meeting and press conference with South Korea's president, Biden addressed this question again on whether he'd entertain another McCarthy meeting. Biden has repeatedly said he will not negotiate on the debt limit. The last time they had an extended conversation about this was in February. MARTIN: So this would seem to ramp up pressure for President Biden to meet with Speaker McCarthy now. Afterwards, he boasted repeatedly to reporters last night that his conference has passed the only bill in Washington that addresses the debt limit and encourages spending cuts. And in the end, with this razor-thin margin, McCarthy could only lose four members of his conference and, indeed, only four voted no. This is a key concern for Republican members in the Midwest. And this includes one significant change - when McCarthy agreed to back off plans to repeal a provision in the original Republican bill to allow tax credits for ethanol production. One by one, we saw holdouts leave his office and say they were going to support the bill. Republicans saw a breakthrough in closed-door negotiations.

It seemed that Speaker McCarthy did not have the votes at some point to pass this plan. MARTIN: And the clip that we just heard kind of alludes to this.

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It also looks to block the Biden administration's efforts to forgive certain student loans, install requirements for certain adults who seek federal assistance, such as food stamps, and cancels unspent pandemic relief funds.

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And that's linked to a series of Republican initiatives, from a plan to cap spending for several years to efforts to repeal parts of President Biden's so-called Inflation Reduction Act. GRISALES: Well, the centerpiece of it is that it increases the debt limit by 1.5 trillion or it raises it until March of next year, whichever of these happens first. MARTIN: So let's start with the Republican bill. Good morning, Claudia.ĬLAUDIA GRISALES, BYLINE: Good morning, Michel. MARTIN: NPR congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales is here with us now to give us the details. Democrats have said the United States should simply meet its obligations and avoid default. INSKEEP: OK, so the House majority now agrees on a position which the Democratic-led Senate is not expected to pass at all. And just as it took me 15 rounds to win speaker, the one thing I have promised the American public - I will never give up on you. Why? Because those are the people we're working for, day in and day out. But you know the one place that they haven't underestimated? The American public. KEVIN MCCARTHY: You've underestimated us. Speaker Kevin McCarthy got through a bill that extends federal borrowing for less than a year, but also demands that President Biden cancel much of his agenda. And up till last night, they had not agreed on what they wanted. Leaders of the House have said they will not pay those bills unless they get something in return. Republicans finally made an opening bid in the fight over paying federal bills.

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