House Assistant Minority Leader James Clyburn (D-SC) said on Monday that while the work requirements for able-bodied food stamp recipients in the debt ceiling deal are “tough,” he believes they are a “good trade-off.”
While appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Clyburn said there isn’t “anything new” about the work requirement in the debt ceiling deal, except that the age limit went from 49 up to 54. And “in exchange for that,” over 100,000 more veterans along with homeless people will be exempted from the work requirements.
Over the weekend, Clyburn said he was confident that there was enough support in the House to get the debt ceiling deal passed despite the “whining on the right” and “concern on the left,” The Hill reported.
While appearing on MSNBC’s “The Sunday Show,” Clyburn told host Jonathan Capehart that “in the final analysis,” Democrats and Republicans will “come together” and pass an agreement with which they are comfortable, and promised that Americans will “be happy with” it.
Clyburn, who formerly served as Democrat Whip, told Capehart that he has absolute confidence that Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries can get Democrats to vote for the deal. He praised Jeffries, saying he has done a “remarkable job” bringing “various factions” of the party together.
He added that when both parties see “leadership at the top, they respond favorably.”
The Associated Press reported on Wednesday that White House officials met on Capitol Hill to shore up support among Democrat lawmakers ahead of the vote on the debt ceiling bill. Meanwhile, Speaker McCarthy is trying to sell support among Republican lawmakers who are skeptical about the concessions made in the deal.
After a lengthy meeting Tuesday night, McCarthy remained confident that he has the votes to pass the measure, the Associated Press reported.
