The US president finally signed this Saturday, June 3, the law that raises the national debt ceiling. The text had been approved by both chambers of Congress and makes it possible to avoid an unprecedented default on the federal government’s debt, with potential catastrophic consequences for the world economy.
First modification:
Just two days after a historic US debt default, President Joe Biden signed into law allowing the debt ceiling to be raised, ending weeks of anxious questioning by Americans and financial markets.
The Treasury Department had warned that the country would begin to run out of liquidity on Monday, unable to pay all its bills. Joe Biden said he had avoided an unprecedented crisis with catastrophic economic consequences.
Joe Biden signed the text in private, and once again thanked the Democratic and Republican leaders of Congress for their bipartisan work.
“As tough as our politics are, we should not see each other as adversaries, but as compatriots,” Biden said in a video message released after the signing. We must “stop yelling, cool down, and work together to pursue progress, ensure prosperity, and keep America’s promise to all,” he concluded.
He also thanked House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Republican, and congressional leaders for acting in good faith. “They acted responsibly and put the good of the country before politics,” he said.
The law, which plans to reduce national spending and modifies various policies in the country, did not leave one field or another happy, but it did manage to be voted on.
“Nobody got everything they wanted, but the American people got what they needed…we’ve averted an economic crisis and an economic collapse,” Biden said Friday in his first Oval Office speech as president.
The confrontation between both camps began when the Republicans conditioned raising the country’s debt limit to a broad policy of cutting public spending. Intensive negotiations then began between the White House and McCarthy, to reach an agreement that could be voted on by both the Democrats and the Republicans in Congress.
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On Wednesday, the House of Representatives approved the deal and it was then voted on by the Senate on Thursday. The text authorizes a suspension of the debt limit until 2025.
public spending cut
The 99-page legislation restricts spending, but not enough according to Republicans. Social policies, such as imposing new work requirements for seniors receiving food aid, and environmental policies, such as the approval of a gas pipeline in Appalachia, are also changing.
At the same time, according to the Congressional Budget Office, the legislation could also expand full eligibility for federal food assistance. In effect, it envisions eliminating work requirements for veterans, the homeless, and youth leaving foster care.
According to Joe Biden, Republican efforts to roll back various social programs and achieve further cuts have been neutralized.
“We are cutting spending and reducing the deficit at the same time,” Biden said. “We’re protecting important priorities, from Social Security to Medicare to Medicaid to Veterans to our transformational investments in infrastructure and clean energy,” she added.
Finally, the law also increases defense funding, a request from Republicans, and refuses to roll back Trump-era tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy.
However, in his speech on Friday, Joe Biden said he will continue to fight to raise federal taxes on the wealthiest, such as billionaires who pay an average of just 8% in taxes, less than firefighters or teachers, he said. President.
with PA
