US President Joe Biden addresses the nation on default avoidance and a bipartisan budget deal in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, June 2, 2023.
Poole | via Reuters
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden, speaking for the first time from the Oval Office on Friday night, called the bill a “important” deal as it discusses a bill that would raise the debt ceiling while capping federal spending. He plans to sign the bill on Saturday.
“Nobody got everything they wanted, but Americans got what they needed. We avoided economic crisis and economic collapse,” Biden said.
The compromise debt ceiling bill passed the Senate Thursday night by a wide margin of 63-36, with enough support from both parties to beat the House’s 60-vote threshold for avoiding a filibuster. It passed the House 314 to 117 on Wednesday after about 72 hours.
There was little time for this agreement. The Treasury Department estimated that federal funds would run out on June 5 if the debt ceiling was not lifted.
“This is extremely important,” Mr. Biden said. “Critical to our progress over the last few years has been to fully maintain America’s credibility and credit, keep our economy growing, and pass a budget that reflects our values as a nation.”
Without this agreement, federal obligations such as Social Security, Medicare, and military pay would not have been sent.And failure to raise the debt ceiling would have shook global financial markets and caused job losses in the United States.
The bill came after weeks of intense negotiations between Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the White House. The final deal gave conservatives several ideological policy victories in exchange for a vote to raise the debt ceiling beyond next year’s presidential election until 2025.
