WASHINGTON, 3 Jun: President Joe Biden is expected to sign legislation on Saturday to raise the debt ceiling, dodging Monday’s deadline when the Treasury warned that the United States would start running short of cash to pay all its bills.
\nThe bipartisan measure, passed by the House on Wednesday and the Senate on Thursday, averts the potential of an unprecedented government default that would have rocked the U.S. and global economies. Raising the nation\u2019s debt limit, now at $31.4 trillion, will ensure that the government can borrow to pay debts already incurred.
\n\u201cPassing this budget agreement was critical. The stakes could not have been higher,” Biden said from the Oval Office on Friday evening. \u201cNothing would have been more catastrophic,\u201d he said, than defaulting on the country’s debt.
\nThe agreement was hashed out by Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, giving Republicans some of their demanded federal spending cuts but holding the line on major Democratic priorities. It raises the debt limit until 2025 \u2014 after the 2024 presidential election \u2014 and gives legislators budget targets for the next two years in hopes of assuring fiscal stability as the political season heats up.
\n\u201cNo one got everything they wanted but the American people got what they needed,\u201d Biden said, highlighting the \u201ccompromise and consensus\u201d in the deal. \u201cWe averted an economic crisis and an economic collapse.\u201d
\nBiden used the opportunity to itemize the achievements of his first term as he runs for reelection, including support for high-tech manufacturing, infrastructure investments and financial incentives for fighting climate change. He also highlighted ways he blunted Republican efforts to roll back his agenda and achieve deeper cuts.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re cutting spending and bringing deficits down at the same time,\u201d Biden said. \u201cWe’re protecting important priorities from Social Security to Medicare to Medicaid to veterans to our transformational investments in infrastructure and clean energy.\u201d
\nEven as he pledged to continue working with Republicans, Biden also drew contrasts with the opposing party, particularly when it comes to raising taxes on the wealthy, something the Democratic president has sought.
\nIt\u2019s something he suggested may need to wait until a second term.
\n\u201cI\u2019m going to be coming back,\u201d he said. \u201cWith your help, I\u2019m going to win.\u201d
\nBiden’s remarks were the most detailed comments from the Democratic president on the compromise he and his staff negotiated. He largely remained quiet publicly during the high-stakes talks, a decision that frustrated some members of his party but was intended to give space for both sides to reach a deal and for lawmakers to vote it to his desk.
\nBiden praised McCarthy and his negotiators for operating in good faith, and all congressional leaders for ensuring swift passage of the legislation. \u201cThey acted responsibly, and put the good of the country ahead of politics,\u201d he said.
\nOverall, the 99-page bill restricts spending for the next two years and changes some policies, including imposing new work requirements for older Americans receiving food aid and greenlighting an Appalachian natural gas pipeline that many Democrats oppose. Some environmental rules were modified to help streamline approvals for infrastructure and energy projects \u2014 a move long sought by moderates in Congress.
\nThe Congressional Budget Office estimates it could actually expand total eligibility for federal food assistance, with the elimination of work requirements for veterans, homeless people and young people leaving foster care.
\nThe legislation also bolsters funds for defense and veterans, cuts back some new money for the Internal Revenue Service and rejects Biden\u2019s call to roll back Trump-era tax breaks on corporations and the wealthy to help cover the nation\u2019s deficits. But the White House said the IRS’ plans to step up enforcement of tax laws for high-income earners and corporations would continue.
\nThe agreement imposes an automatic overall 1% cut to spending programs if Congress fails to approve its annual spending bills \u2014 a measure designed to pressure lawmakers of both parties to reach consensus before the end of the fiscal year in September.
\nIn both chambers, more Democrats backed the legislation than Republicans, but both parties were critical to its passage. In the Senate the tally was 63-36 including 46 Democrats and independents and 17 Republicans in favor, 31 Republicans along with four Democrats and one independent who caucuses with the Democrats opposed. (AP)
\nThe vote in the House was 314-117. (AP)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON, 3 Jun: President Joe Biden is expected to sign legislation on Saturday to raise the debt ceiling, dodging Monday’s deadline when the Treasury warned that the United States would start running short of cash to pay all its bills. The bipartisan measure, passed by the House on Wednesday and the Senate on Thursday, averts […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-217633","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=217633"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217633\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=217633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=217633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=217633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}