2023-05-30 15:50:22
Congress begins a race once morest time to discuss the debt ceiling agreement reached between President Joe Biden and Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, in an attempt to spare the United States a debt default.
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The US Congress will discuss the debt ceiling agreement (archive)
Less than a week before the approval of raising the US debt ceiling, Congress begins today, Tuesday, a race once morest time to discuss the agreement reached between President Joe Biden and Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, in a way that will avoid the United States from defaulting on debt payments, and if it does not happen, it will leave global repercussions.
Members of the Republican-controlled House of Representatives are beginning to consider the finance bill emanating from the agreement concluded last Saturday to raise the US debt ceiling in return for budget cuts.
An important first meeting of the Law Committee is expected to be held this followingnoon, Tuesday, and is expected to give an indication of the prevailing trends, at a time when a segment of conservative and progressive deputies opposes the settlement that was extracted over the weekend following marathon negotiations.
And if no problems arise, Kevin McCarthy expects a vote in the House of Representatives tomorrow, Wednesday, in a plenary session, with the Senate, with a Democratic majority, voting later on the settlement project.
And Joe Biden, the candidate for a second term in 2024, who risks his political balance in this issue, continued Monday to consult in all directions to persuade the Democrats to agree, a White House official said.
The president expressed optimism that Congress would pass the bill this week. “I will never say I’m sure what Congress will do, but I feel good,” Biden told reporters before leaving the White House.
He said, “The agreement avoids the worst possible crisis: a default for the first time in the history of our country, and avoids an economic downturn, damage to pensions and the loss of millions of jobs.”
Also read: What are the political dimensions of the US debt ceiling crisis?
A race once morest time
But time is running out, as the US Treasury said that next June 5 is the date when the US government may lack funds and thus be unable to pay the dues of its debts and bills, pensions and salaries of federal employees.
Such a catastrophic scenario would be unprecedented in the United States and would have repercussions at the global level, if it occurred, according to economists.
Also read: What are the broad lines of the Biden and McCarthy agreement regarding raising the US debt ceiling?
The agreement, in its broad outlines, provides for raising the public debt ceiling for the United States for a period of two years, that is, until following the presidential elections in 2024. The current ceiling is set at $31,400 billion.
The agreement did not include the deep cuts Republicans want, though non-defense spending will remain virtually unchanged next year, increasing only nominally in 2025.
It also provides for a reduction of $ 10 billion in funds allocated to tax services to modernize and strengthen controls, which was a demand by Republicans, as well as to recover funds allocated to combat Covid-19 that have not yet been spent.
In addition, it will adopt new rules for accessing some federal aid programs.
The agreement is an “insult” to the American people
Democratic and Republican leaders have expressed confidence that they will muster the votes needed to eventually pass the text.
He revealed the details of the settlement last Sunday, giving members of Congress 72 hours to read in depth. But a vote on it is not a foregone conclusion, as the text faces stiff resistance from some members of Congress from both parties.
Conservative Republicans have previously declared their opposition to the agreement, such as Rep. Dan Bishop, who reprimanded McCarthy because, in his opinion, he “got almost nothing” in the negotiations.
Another Republican, Matt Rosendale, spoke of an “insult to the American people.”
On the left, skepticism was expressed by progressive lawmakers such as Ro Kana, who said many Democrats opposed to budget cuts “don’t know yet” how to vote.
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