2023-05-29 12:36:21
© Reuters. US President Joe Biden 05/28/2023. REUTERS/Julia Nikhinson
By Moira Warburton and Diane Bartz and Idrees Ali
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden on Sunday finalized a budget deal with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to lift the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling through Jan. said the deal is ready to be taken to Congress for a vote.
“This is a deal that is good news for … the American people,” Biden told reporters at the White House after a call with McCarthy to put the finishing touches to an interim deal they struck late on Saturday.
“It takes the threat of catastrophic default off the table, protects our hard-earned, historic economic recovery,” Biden said.
The deal, if passed, will prevent the US government from defaulting on its debt and was crafted after weeks of heated negotiations between Biden and House Republicans.
It still needs to get through a narrowly divided Congress before June 5, when the US Treasury says it will run out of money to cover all its obligations.
“I strongly urge both Houses to pass this deal,” Biden said, adding that he hopes McCarthy will have the necessary votes to pass the deal.
The deal has drawn criticism from radical Republicans and progressive Democrats alike, but Biden and McCarthy are betting they’ll get enough votes on both sides.
McCarthy predicted on Sunday that he would have the support of a majority of his Republican peers, and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he expected Democratic backing.
The deal will lift the debt cap through January 1, 2025, limit spending in the 2024 and 2025 budgets, recover unused Covid funds, speed up the licensing process for some energy projects, and include extra work requirements for food aid for poor Americans.
The 99-page bill will authorize more than $886 billion in security spending in fiscal 2024 and more than $703 billion in non-security spending in the same year, not including some adjustments. It will also authorize a 1% increase in security spending in fiscal 2025.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell applauded the deal and urged the Senate to act quickly to pass it without unnecessary delay once it passes through the House.
“Today’s agreement represents urgent progress toward preserving our nation’s full faith and credit, and a much-needed step toward getting the finances in order,” McConnell said.
Members of the hard-line Republican Freedom Caucus have said they will try to stop the deal from passing in a House vote scheduled for Wednesday.
McCarthy dismissed threats from opposition within his own party, saying that “over 95%” of House Republicans were “extremely enthusiastic” about the deal.
“This is a good, strong bill that a majority of Republicans will vote for,” the California Republican told reporters at the US Capitol. “We’re going to have Republicans and Democrats who are able to take this to the president.”
(Reportagem de Moira Warburton, Steve Holland, Diane Bartz, Daphne Psaledakis, Richard Cowan, Trevor Hunnicutt e Idrees Ali)
#Biden #final #deal #U.S #debt #ceiling #ready #congressional #vote #Reuters