The debt ceiling deal between House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the Biden administration is "not a spending bill" and was made to "curb future spending and policy," said Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y.
"Let me make this absolutely clear to all the conservatives who are concerned about" the package, Tenney said Thursday on Newsmax's "John Bachman Now."
"I'm a conservative. The top conservatives in the house voted for this bill and I'll tell you why — this is not a spending bill. This was a deal that was made to curb future spending and policy. This is the scrimmage as [Rep.] Tom Massie described it.
"The Super Bowl is appropriations, that's where we actually can do something. We can't sit there and say we're just going to let the default on our debt undermine the U.S.' full faith and credit, undermine the dollar as the gold standard or the standard of currency in the world.
"We can't allow our Medicaid, Medicare, our seniors, our veterans, everybody who's dependent on these systems, just to implode because we're going to make a point."
Many conservatives are irked about the deal, including Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who has been circulating documents breaking down how the agreement is a "betrayal."
The Fiscal Responsibility Act would suspend the debt ceiling until 2025, allowing the U.S. to avoid a default that could reap devastating consequences on the economy. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned that the federal government will be unable to pay its bills starting Monday unless Congress takes action.
"The Republican conference right now has been torn asunder," Roy said Tuesday before the House rules committee voted to advance the bill. "Not one Republican should vote for this deal. It is a bad deal."
The House approved the package late Wednesday as Biden and McCarthy assembled a bipartisan coalition of centrist Democrats and Republicans against fierce conservative blowback and progressive dissent.
The bill now heads to the Senate with passage expected by week's end.
Overall, the 99-page bill restricts spending for the next two years, suspends the debt ceiling into January 2025 and changes some policies, including imposing new work requirements for older Americans receiving food aid and greenlighting an Appalachian natural gas line that many Democrats oppose.
Tenney says Democrats need to "concede something" to move forward.
"We are in a situation where we basically have a pair of 2s. They have a royal flush, and we were able to bluff them into what I think is a really good plan which has been described by my colleague Warren Davidson — no RINO, by the way — who said this is the most conservative bill he has ever voted for in Congress."
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