McCarthy, Biden Say They Can Avoid Debt Limit Default Before Deadline

President Joe Biden and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reported productive talks Monday on a debt ceiling compromise, but have yet to announce a breakthrough before a potential January 1 deadline. June.

“I have just concluded a productive meeting with Chairman McCarthy on the need to prevent default and avoid catastrophe for our economy,” Biden said in a statement. “We reiterate once again that default is off the table and the only way forward is in good faith toward a bipartisan agreement.”

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But the two sides remain far apart on a deal to raise the debt ceiling.

“President Biden and I just had a productive meeting in our negotiation to responsibly increase the debt limit,” McCarthy said after the meeting. “It should have happened months ago, but there is a way for him to avoid defaulting on the debt.”

McCarthy ruled out cuts in defense spending.

“Defense should not be on the table,” he said.

Negotiators will continue talks overnight, McCarthy said.

McCarthy said that new admissions were not an option. He also said that a short-term extension was not an option.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said lawmakers must raise the debt ceiling by June 1 or risk a default on US debt obligations. run out of money remains uncertain.

Yellen said June 1 is still a “deadline” Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” He was not optimistic about Biden’s possible plans to use the 14th Amendment to raise the debt limit unilaterally.

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“It doesn’t seem like something that can be used appropriately in these circumstances, given the legal uncertainty surrounding it and given the narrow time frame we find ourselves in,” he said.

The debt ceiling is the maximum amount of debt that the United States Department of the Treasury can issue.

Yellen formerly saying “A default by the United States would generate an economic and financial catastrophe.”

House Republicans approved a bill to cut spending by $4.8 trillion and increase the debt limit by about $1.5 trillion, or until March 31, 2024, whichever comes first. The Republican bill would remove environmental and energy tax credits from the Cut Inflation Act and formally block the cancellation of Biden’s student loans. It would also set work requirements for some federal entitlement programs, such as requiring Medicaid recipients to work 80 hours a month.

The Limit, Save, Grow Act would return total discretionary spending to FY 2022 level in FY 2024 and cap annual growth at 1% for 10 years, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the measure would reduce budget deficits “by about $4.8 trillion over the period 2023-2033.”

Distributed with permission from The Center Square.