McCarthy suggests formation of bipartisan debt commission to deal with national debt

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) suggested the House form a bipartisan debt commission that would focus on the long-term effort to rein in government spending and bring down the national debt.

McCarthy, who is embattled in a fierce fight to avoid a government shutdown this weekend, reiterated his call for the bipartisan commission on Thursday, stating he believes there is a bipartisan plan to solve the country’s debt problem.

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“I believe this is an opportunity to deal with the border, deal with our funding, and put us on a path that this country is stronger,” McCarthy told CNBC’s Squawk Box. “I think another commission we can deal with is a debt commission … made up of Republicans and Democrats to deal with our long-term debt problem.”

McCarthy said he has taken the idea of the commission to President Joe Biden and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), and posed the commission as similar to the Defense Department’s Base Realignment and Closure rounds that reduce unnecessary infrastructure.

The comment comes as Congress is deadlocked on the fight to avoid a government shutdown that would go into effect Sunday. House Republicans have been at odds since the summer, with a handful of holdouts refusing to send more aid to Ukraine while there is an immigration crisis at the southern border.

McCarthy said his problem with the Senate’s bill, which was passed earlier this week, is that there was nothing about the border in the legislation, despite calls for help from Democratic governors.

“I look at the current Senate bill that does nothing to deal with the border security. Don’t take my word for it. The governor of Massachusetts declared a state of emergency,” McCarthy said. “This is something that Democrats and Republicans want to have done.”

The Senate bill would keep the government funded through Nov. 17, 2023.

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McCarthy said that despite the holdouts and conflict with the Senate, he was hopeful Congress would do its job and avoid the shutdown.

“At the end of the day, we will get this done,” he said.