With days to spare before the government’s first possible default, President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached a final agreement on Sunday on a deal to raise the national debt ceiling. and work to ensure there are enough Republican and Democratic votes to pass the measure in the coming weeks.
The Democratic president and Republican speaker spoke to each other Sunday night as negotiators rushed to draft the bill text so lawmakers could consider compromises that both the right and the right. The left is not supportive. Instead, leaders are working to garner support from political intermediaries as Congress rushes to vote ahead of the June 5 deadline to prevent a damaging federal debt default. harmful.
“Good news,” Biden announced Sunday night at the White House.
“The agreement averted the worst possible crisis, a default for the first time in our nation’s history,” he said. “Remove the threat of catastrophic default off the table.”
The president called on both parties in Congress to pass it quickly. “The speaker and I made it clear from the start that the only way forward is a bipartisan agreement,” he said.
The compromise announced late Saturday includes spending cuts but risks angering some lawmakers as they take a closer look at the concessions. Biden told reporters at the White House upon his return from Delaware that he believed the plan would work on his desk.
McCarthy also confidently said at the Capitol: “Finally, everyone can look back together to be able to get through this.”
The coming days will determine whether Washington can narrowly avoid default, as it has done many times before, or whether the global economy enters a potential crisis.
In the United States, a default could freeze financial markets and trigger an international financial crisis. Millions of jobs will disappear, borrowing and unemployment rates will skyrocket, and a stock market plunge could cost trillions of dollars in household wealth, analysts say. . It would completely disrupt the $24 trillion Treasury debt market.
Retirees are worried and others have made contingency plans for missed checks, with the next Social Security payments due as soon as the world sees leadership. America is threatened.
McCarthy and his negotiators describe the deal as benefiting Republicans even though it doesn’t achieve the sweeping spending cuts they seek. Top White House officials are notifying Democratic lawmakers and calling several people directly to try to ramp up support.
As Sunday dragged on, negotiators worked to write the bill text and lawmakers raised questions.
McCarthy told reporters at the Capitol on Sunday that the deal “didn’t get everything everyone wanted,” but that’s to be expected in a divided government. Privately, he told lawmakers on a conference call that Democrats “have nothing” that they want.
A White House statement from the president, which came after Biden and McCarthy spoke by phone Saturday night and an agreement in principle was followed, said the deal “prevents what is could be a catastrophic default.”
Support from both sides will be needed to win congressional approval before the US government defaults on June 5. Lawmakers are not expected to return to work from the end of the day. Memorial Day week as early as Tuesday, and McCarthy has promised lawmakers that he will stick to the rule of posting any bill 72 hours before a vote.
Negotiators agreed to several Republican demands for increased job requirements for food stamp recipients that House Democrats have called unwise.
With the outlines of a deal, the legislative package could be drawn up and shared with lawmakers in time for a vote in the House as soon as Wednesday and then next week in the Senate.
At the heart of the compromise is a two-year budget deal that would essentially keep spending at the same level through 2024, while increasing defense and veterans spending while increasing the cap at 1%. for 2025. Along with a two-year debt limit increase, the economy is fraught with political problems ahead of the next presidential election.
Trying to impose tougher job requirements on government aid recipients, Republicans have achieved some of what they wanted. It ensures 49- to 54-year-olds on food stamp benefits will have to meet the work requirements if they are healthy and have no dependents. Biden was able to secure immunity for veterans and the homeless.
The agreement sets out changes to the landmark National Environmental Policy Act that designates “a single leading body” to develop environmental assessments, in the hope of streamlining the process.
It halted some funds to hire new Internal Revenue Service agents at the request of Republicans and canceled about $30 billion for coronavirus relief, withholding $5 billion for next-generation vaccine development. ask for the next COVID-19.
The deal was signed after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Congress the US could default on its debt by June 5 – four days later than previously estimated – if lawmakers don’t timely action. Raising the nation’s debt limit, currently at $31 trillion, allows for more borrowing to pay its already insured bills.
McCarthy has only a slim Republican majority in the House, where far-right conservatives can resist any deal that isn’t enough as they try to cut spending. By compromising with Democrats, he risks losing support from his own members, creating a moment of career challenge for the new speaker.
“I think you’re going to get a majority of Republicans voting on this bill,” McCarthy said on “Fox News Sunday,” adding that because Biden supported it, “I think there’s going to be a lot of Democrats.” the owner will vote for it too.”
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that he expected Democratic support but declined to provide numbers. Asked if he could guarantee no default, he said: “Yes.”
A group of 100 moderates in the New Democratic Coalition gave a key nod of support on Sunday, saying in a statement they were confident Biden and his team “have come up with a solution.” bipartisan, feasible to end this crisis” and is working to ensure the agreement receives support from both sides.
The coalition could provide enough support for McCarthy to compensate for the right-wing members of his party who expressed opposition before the bill’s wording was even announced.
It also helps Biden take the pressure off, facing criticism from progressives for giving in to what they call Republican hostage-taking.
Democratic Representative Pramila Jayapal of Washington state, who leads the Congressional Radical Caucus, told CBS the White House and Jeffries should worry about whether caucus members support the deal. Are not.
