House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has called on President Biden to resume talks to resolve the impasse over the debt ceiling. Earlier, the White House had emphasized that the President was not willing to entertain program cuts only to get the debt limit lifted.
Republican Kevin McCarthy maintains that there has been considerable progress, and remains optimistic.
Congress has to lift the debt limit at times to increase the amount the government can borrow to pay for obligations. House GOP members, led by McCarthy, have put their foot down over lifting the limit without concrete assurances of cuts in spending by the federal government.
President Biden has steadfastly stuck to his position that though cuts are necessary, he refuses to link cuts to the ceiling and says that the Republicans have to remove the limit first.
President Biden Refuses Republican Stance Of Linking Budget Cuts To Debt Ceiling
McCarthy has expressed concern over the stalemate in the situation and said that time was ticking. He said he remained concerned over the prevailing situation.
The US has already hit the debt ceiling. This has forced the US treasury to adopt extraordinary measures for paying government bills. Even the emergency tools are projected to be exhausted this summer, as per estimates released by the Congressional Budget Office. This non-partisan office provides independent analysis of economic and budgetary issues and provides periodical estimates, analysis, and information.
The warning raises the specter of a federal default if lawmakers are unable to get their act together and lift the debt ceiling.
President Biden has said that the Republicans were only making the debt ceiling an issue when they were out of power. The White House has pointed out that the Republicans had raised the debt ceiling multiple times when Trump was in power, even as they authorized massive tax concessions for the rich.
President Biden and McCarthy last met two months ago to discuss measures to lift the debt ceiling. He has termed Biden’s refusal to negotiate as “extreme,” and said that he remains hopeful of further discussions.
