NAACP: Debt ceiling bill ‘misses the mark’ for Black Americans

The NAACP has condemned legislation to raise the debt ceiling, citing the negative effects it will disproportionately have on Black Americans.

Though the bill, which passed the Senate late Thursday, ensures the country avoids defaulting on payments, it “reflects misplaced priorities,” said Derrick Johnson, NAACP CEO and president.

“The deal avoids the calamity of default, but weakens environmental protection, IRS capacity needed to collect revenue, and adds burdensome requirements for Americans seeking public assistance,” Johnson said in a statement Friday. He also said conservative legislators were prioritizing corporations and wealthy individuals.

Debates around the debt ceiling had persisted for several months and intensified when Treasury Department Secretary Janet Yellen warned that the federal government would no longer be able to pay its bills as early as June 5, causing economic catastrophe.

Last weekend, President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) finally reached a compromise on a bill.

The legislation rescinds funding provided to the IRS from the Inflation Reduction Act and expands work requirements for individuals to receive resources like food stamps and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

The NAACP warned earlier this month that while a congressional impasse would fall most heavily upon Black Americans, work requirements for assistance “must be resoundingly rejected.” Johnson said such proposals “play on racist stereotypes.”

Prior to the deal with McCarthy, Biden had indicated he would not consider cuts that could increase poverty for working-class Americans. He had also dismissed the idea of cutting funding for food stamps.

Now, Johnson is calling on Congress and Biden, who is expected to sign the bill into law, to reconsider these concessions.

“Let me be clear – rather than accelerating the Mountain Valley Pipeline, implementing ineffective work requirements for SNAP and [Temporary Assistance for Needy Families], and restarting student loan payments — lawmakers should be working to deepen investments into programs that uplift all Americans, especially Black Americans,” Johnson said.

“The debt ceiling should never be used to pass legislation that would fail to stand on its own merit,” he added. “As the bill heads to President Biden’s desk, the NAACP demands that Congress and the Administration end the use of the debt ceiling as an exercise in legislative hostage-taking. The well-being of Black Americans and vulnerable people should never be negotiated.”

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