The United States is still stuck in the issue of the debt ceiling. Despite continuous discussions, President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have not made any progress in reaching an agreement to raise the debt ceiling and avoid a default.
In a recent meeting on May 22, President Biden and Speaker McCarthy were unable to reach an agreement on raising the debt ceiling to $31.4 trillion, just 10 days before the government could potentially default and plunge the US economy into turmoil.
As the June 1 deadline urged by the US Treasury Department approaches, all parties are facing pressure to reach an agreement on raising the debt ceiling. Therefore, they all affirm that they will continue to negotiate to reach a consensus on this issue.
The Republican Party is pressuring the White House to agree to budget cuts in federal spending, which President Biden views as “extreme.” Meanwhile, President Biden wants to push for new taxes, but the Republican Party rejects that proposal.
Despite the surrounding disagreements, both sides emphasize the necessity of avoiding a default with a bipartisan agreement after the meeting on the evening of May 22 and indicate that they will engage in frequent discussions in the coming days.
An optimistic signal is that President Biden himself remarked that the conversation with House Speaker McCarthy was “productive” and affirmed that he would make every effort to avoid a default.
“We agree that avoiding a default is non-negotiable, and the only way to achieve that is to strive for a good-faith bipartisan agreement,” said the US leader.
Speaking to reporters after an hour-long conversation with President Biden in the Oval Office, McCarthy also confirmed that there had been a useful discussion.
“I feel that we had a productive discussion, but there is still no agreement,” said House Speaker McCarthy, adding that members of both parties will continue to negotiate. “I believe we can still achieve that.”
McCarthy also confirmed after the over an hour-long meeting that the negotiators “will meet and work through the night” to find common ground.
The US national debt has reached the limit of $31.4 trillion, and officials have warned that if the debt ceiling is not raised soon, the country could run out of cash and lose the ability to borrow further to pay government bills, as early as June 1.
On May 22, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned that time is running out and it is “very likely” that the US Treasury Department will not have the ability to pay all government obligations in early June if the debt ceiling is not raised.
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Source: Vietnam Insider