Legislative text in progress?: An agreement is emerging in the US debt dispute

Legislative text in progress?
An agreement is emerging in the US debt dispute

5/26/2023 5:26 am

Time is short, insolvency is imminent: in the USA, Democrats and Republicans could resolve their dispute over the debt ceiling just in time. Negotiations are reportedly progressing. There are concessions.

In the United States, according to an insider, President Joe Biden’s administration, together with representatives of the Republicans in the House of Representatives, has apparently come a big step closer to an agreement on raising the debt ceiling.

A government official familiar with the talks said late Thursday evening (local time) that the parties are said to have agreed to raise the current debt ceiling of $31.4 trillion for two years. At the same time, however, spending in all areas – with the exception of the military and veterans – is to be limited.

The White House is considering scaling back its plan to increase funding for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to hire more auditors and target wealthy Americans, the insider said. The “New York Times” reports that the negotiators for the Democrats and Republicans have begun drafting a legal text. Accordingly, some details are still open.

“The only way to move forward is with a bipartisan deal. I believe we will come to a deal that will allow us to move forward and protect hard-working Americans in this country,” US President Biden said Thursday reporters. Before negotiations began, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said, “We knew it wasn’t going to be easy.”

In Washington, there has been a debate about raising the federal debt ceiling from the current $31.4 trillion for weeks. To take this step, Biden’s Democrats need the support of Republicans, who hold a majority in the House of Representatives. Without an agreement, the US faces insolvency, which experts say could have serious consequences for the global economy.