(WASHINGTON) A deal is finally on the horizon? The White House and negotiators on Friday continued to build a compromise rich in political ulterior motives to avoid a US default, which could happen on June 5 instead of June 1.anywhich provides an additional short delay.
President Joe Biden was quite “optimistic” at the end of the afternoon, saying he hoped to know “by tonight whether we’re able to come to an agreement.”
“We are closer (to an agreement), but that has not happened yet,” said a source close to the previous discussions, skeptical about the possibility of an announcement on Friday.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the main Republican protagonist of this financial political series, has noticed progress.
But he added, “Nothing is certain until everything is agreed upon,” to keep pressure on the president.
There is no shortage of pressure on this hard-to-understand issue outside the United States and more generally outside the Washington bubble.
However, the date when the US Treasury will find itself insolvent, which is now set at June 5, has been revised down from June 1.any June before that, offer a few days of rest.
“Based on the most recent data available, we now estimate that the Treasury Department will not have sufficient resources to meet the government’s obligations if Congress does not raise or suspend the debt ceiling by June 5th,” US Treasury Secretary Janet said Friday. Yellen, in a letter to elected officials in Congress.
Plus de 130 milliards of dollars in paiements en retraites, santé et pour les anciens combattants notamment, sont prevus au cours des deux premiers juurs de juin, ce qui « laissera le tresor avec un niveau de extrêmement bas », at-elle specified.
“hostage”
The challenge is to get Congress – the Republican House and the Democratic Senate – to vote quickly to raise the public debt ceiling, or else the United States could find itself in default, an unprecedented situation with economic ramifications, potentially financially and socially catastrophic.
This parliamentary maneuver has long been a formality for both parties. But this time, the Republicans are demanding, in return for the green light, a reduction in public spending.
Officially, Joe Biden refuses to negotiate, believing he is being held “hostage.”
In fact, the two camps’ advisors have been talking nonstop for days, and according to several American media outlets, they have already agreed on some main lines.
The deal would freeze some spending, but leave the defense and veterans budgets intact, according to reports The New York Times and the Washington Post.
It will defer for two years, until after the next presidential election, the risk of default.
Debt reduction
Each camp wants to limit the damage at the political level.
Kevin McCarthy, who needs to assert his status as Speaker of the House, could claim to have instilled more budgetary toughness, while the Democrats claim they have protected social benefits or big investment projects.
The US president, who is campaigning for re-election, made it clear Thursday that “two opposing visions” were at work in these discussions.
Pretend to be a champion of social and financial justice. But according to the press, the 80-year-old Democrat would, in these negotiations, give up the increase as much as he wanted the means intended to fight tax evasion.
If a deal is reached, it must still be approved by the Senate, which Democrats hold narrowly, and the House of Representatives, where conservatives hold a shaky majority.
The parliamentary calendar is tight: many elected officials have returned to their strongholds for a multi-day holiday, marking the long “Remembrance Day” weekend.
In addition, some progressives within the Democratic Party, just as some elected representatives of the Republican Party, threatened not to ratify or delay as much as possible a text that would make too many concessions to the opposing camp.
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Friday that finding a solution was “crucial” for the global economy, while stressing that the United States must do “more to reduce public debt.”
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