Biden, McCarthy reach tentative US debt ceiling deal
(VOVWORLD) - US President Joe Biden and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy reached a tentative deal to suspend the federal government's 31.4 trillion USD debt ceiling on Saturday evening, ending a months-long stalemate.
 House Speaker Kevin McCarthy speaks during a news conference after he and President Joe Biden reached an 'agreement in principle' to resolve the looming debt crisis on Saturday, May 27, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC (Photo: AP) |
However, the deal was announced without any celebration, in terms that reflected the bitter tenor of the negotiations and the difficult path it has to pass through Congress before the US runs out of money to pay its debts in early June.
Biden called the deal "an important step forward" in a statement, saying: "The agreement represents a compromise, which means not everyone gets what they want. That’s the responsibility of governing."
The deal would suspend the debt limit through January of 2025, while capping spending in the 2024 and 2025 budgets, claw back unused COVID funds, speed up the permitting process for some energy projects and includes some extra work requirements for food aid programs for poor Americans.