Staff Reports
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy expressed little confidence in negotiations between himself and President Joe Biden regarding the debt ceiling, stating that negotiations were not producing compromises on most of the demands that Republicans have made. These demands are conditional to the increase of the debt ceiling, established in the Limit, Save, Grow Act passed by the House in April. Despite reports that Republicans and Democrats had agreed to conditions to be included in a final debt ceiling bill sanctioning reforms in energy permits, a 1% cap on discretionary spending, and an expansion of work requirements for SNAP food stamp, a sovereign default could occur early next month if Congress and Biden do not come to a national agreement.
‘They Want A Default’: McCarthy Says House GOP Making Little Progress With Biden On Debt Ceiling via @DailyCaller https://t.co/Umjl2afGT2
— Chris 🇺🇸 (@Chris_1791) May 15, 2023
“I still think we’re far apart. It doesn’t seem to me yet that they want a deal. It just seems that they want to look like they’re in a meeting, but they’re not talking anything serious,” said McCarthy. These comments come as both Congress and Biden are preparing to leave Washington, D.C., before the end of May, despite the impending possibility of a default.
Speaker McCarthy offered a reality check this morning on debt limit talks, insisting they are still "far apart," while the administration paints a rosier picture. pic.twitter.com/v3hLWjkdnz
— Haley Talbot (@haleytalbotcnn) May 15, 2023
McCarthy firmly believes they must get a deal done by this weekend to be able to have a timeline to pass it in both houses. Unfortunately, it appears now that Biden is prioritizing his foreign travel over the economic welfare of the country. Biden is scheduled to leave the country for the G-7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, on Wednesday and will only return on May 25th after stopping in Papua New Guinea and Australia for diplomatic summits, even though there have been calls for him to cancel the trips.
The potential consequences of not having an agreement reached between Congress and President Biden could lead to an economic and financial catastrophe for the world economy. The U.S. is projected to exhaust all emergency measures to meet its debt obligations to holders of Treasury bonds as early as June 1, according to a letter that Yellen sent McCarthy on May 1.
It seems like the Biden administration is not taking the threat of the looming national economic crisis as seriously as they should. Perhaps their focus is elsewhere, but the American people should be their priority.
