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Senator Mike Braun, R-IN, questions FBI Director Christopher Wray during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies hearing June 23, 2021 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. The committee is hearing testimony regarding the proposed budget for fiscal year 2022 for the FBI. (Photo by Sarah Silbiger-Pool/Getty Images)

Source: (Photo by Sarah Silbiger-Pool/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is proposing spending cuts as lawmakers continue to squabble over the country’s financial future.

In an address in New York City this week, McCarthy called on President Biden to “stop wasting time” and negotiate with House Republicans on raising the debt ceiling. Lawmakers will need to do that in the coming months in order for the U.S. to avoid defaulting on its debt.

“If Washington wants to spend more, it’ll have to come together to find savings elsewhere,” McCarthy said. “Just like every single American household does every single day.”

Biden has remained insistent that he will not negotiate over concerns that Republicans will include cuts to Social Security and Medicaid, something McCarthy has repeatedly said will not happen.

Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana is hopeful House lawmakers can get a deal done that will have spending cuts, but he adds that the spending problems the U.S. is dealing with are bipartisan.

“It’s driven by the defense hawks and neo-Cons on our side, 14 of them or so, that line up with almost every Democrat who is unapologetic about borrowing and spending the money,” Braun said on Fox Business.

Braun said it would not be hard to find reasonable spending cuts over ten years in a balanced budget proposal he introduced last year. Ultimately, he said regardless of what the House passes, it will come down to what kind of consensus can be built in the U.S. Senate.

“Will he hold together? Are we the party of fiscal conservativism? It’s going to be on the line,” said Braun. “I think Kevin (McCarthy) is going to do what they need to do there. Let’s see what we can do in the Senate. But, until we hold the line across the board, don’t expect anything to change in the U.S. Senate.”

Democrats, mainly Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, accuse Speaker McCarthy of pushing the U.S. toward a “catastrophic default” by insisting on spending cuts as part of a debt ceiling deal. Schumer said cuts should not be a pre-condition for avoiding default.