The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 would set the course for federal spending for the next two years and suspend the debt ceiling until Jan . 1 , 2025 — postponing another clash over borrowing until after the presidential election .
In exchange for Republican votes , Democrats agreed to cap federal spending for the next two years . In addition to suspending the debt ceiling and limiting government spending , the legislation rescinds some IRS funding and approves the Mountain Valley Pipeline from West Virginia into Virginia . The legislation will also maintain full funding for veterans ’ health care and increase support for the PACT Act ’ s toxic exposure fund by nearly $ 15 billion for fiscal year 2024 .
The package also increases the work requirements for certain adults receiving food stamps . Currently , childless , able-bodied adults ages 18 to 49 are only able to get food stamps for three months out of every three years unless they are employed at least 20 hours a week or meet other criteria . The legislation will increase the upper limit of the mandate to age 55 . The bill also tightens up the work requirement in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families ( TANF ) program .
The House of Representatives also passed on May 11 a significant piece of legislation – H . R . 2 , the Secure the Border Act -- to address the situation at the U . S . -Mexico and the U . S . -Canadian borders . The bill ’ s passage came the day before the restrictions on border crossing were lifted to combat the COVID pandemic ( Title 42 ).
H . R . 2 directs the Secretary of Homeland Security ( DHS ) to maintain the Customs and Border Protection workforce at a staffing level of 22,000 employees . It also requires the agency to upgrade its technology so those agents have sufficient tools to protect our borders . Finally , it directs DHS to resume constructing the wall between the United States and Mexico . There were only two dissenting Republican votes against H . R . 2 .
The bill also requires all employers to use E-Verify , a federal system that allows private-sector employers to confirm that employees are eligible to work in the United States . This requirement is phased in over a two-year period . Finally , the bill alters the process for asylum seekers to keep them out of the country while they apply for asylum status .
Congress approved roughly $ 4.6 trillion in COVID-19 relief funds since the pandemic began in early 2020 . The legislation claws back roughly $ 28 billion in unobligated COVID-19 relief funds . However , it will retain $ 5 billion in funding to accelerate the development of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments , as well as funding for the uninsured . It will also keep the money for housing assistance and the Indian Health Service .
Also included were provisions to require student loan borrowers to begin paying back their student loans at the end of the summer . The pause has been in effect since the COVID-19 pandemic began . The legislation will prohibit the administration from extending it again . The legislation was signed into law by President Biden on June 3rd .
The House Education and Workforce Committee Subcommittee on Workforce Protections held a hearing on April 19 entitled “ Examining Biden ’ s War on Independent Contractors .” The hearing included two independent contractors , both freelance writers , as witnesses at the hearing . The panel also included a researcher from the conservative Mercatus Center at George Mason University and the former Wage and Hour Division Administrator under President George W . Bush . The minority witnesses included the Chief Executive Officer of the National Electrical Contractors Association and the Director of Work Structures at the progressive think tank , the National Employment Law Project .
The Subcommittee Chairman , Representative Kevin Kiley ( R-CA ) from California , started the hearing with remarks
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