U.S President Joe Biden is poised to discuss the country’s debt ceiling with congressional leaders at the White House.
The meeting on Tuesday, May 16, 2023 afternoon comes as the U.S President is preparing to depart for the Group of Seven summit in Japan where the U.S. leadership will be on the world stage later this week.
Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are putting in efforts to strike a budget deal before the U.S. Treasury runs out of cash to keep paying the nation’s bills, which could occur as soon as June 1, 2023.
It is the second time in a week that Biden has met with McCarthy and other congressional leaders at the White House. Biden is confronting a politically divided Congress for the first time on the debt ceiling, a challenge for both the President and McCarthy, the new Speaker, as they work to prevent an economic crisis that could come from a federal default.
The meeting will also include Senate Majority Leader; Chuck Schumer of New York, Senate Republican leader; Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and House Democratic leader; Hakeem Jeffries of New York.
Discussions have been under way at the Capitol for much of the past week, closed-door talks where White House and congressional staff are discussing what it would take to craft a budget deal that would unlock a separate vote to lift the nation’s borrowing capacity, now set at $31 trillion.
According to those familiar with the talks, the agenda for discussions include, clawing back some $30 billion in untapped COVID-19 money, imposing future budget caps, approving permitting reforms to ease energy development and putting bolstered work requirements on recipients of government aid.
Republicans led by McCarthy want Biden to accept their proposal to roll back spending, cap future outlays and make other policy changes in the package passed last month by House Republicans.
McCarthy says the House is the only chamber that has taken action to raise the debt ceiling. However, the House bill is almost certain to fail in the Senate, controlled by Democrats, and Biden has said he would veto it.
McCarthy has complained that the talks are slow-going, saying he first met with Biden more than 100 days ago and that the President should be more focused on issues at home. “An American President should focus on the solutions of America,” McCarthy said.
U.S. To Possibly Run Out Of Cash On June 1
U.S Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen disclosed on Monday, May 15, 2023 that agency estimates are unchanged on the possible X-date when the U.S. could run out of cash, perhaps as early as June 1.
However, in a letter to the House and Senate, Yellen left some opening for a possible time extension on a national default, stating that “the actual date Treasury exhausts extraordinary measures could be a number of days or weeks later than these estimates.”
She said she would update Congress next week “as more information becomes available.”
Biden indicated over the weekend that he could be open to tougher work requirements for certain government aid programs, which Republicans are proposing as part of the ongoing discussion. He has said he will not accept anything that takes away people’s health care coverage.
An increase in the debt limit would not authorize new federal spending. It would only allow for borrowing to pay for what Congress has already approved.
