Biden, GOP Reach Tentative Deal On Debt Ceiling

President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached an “agreement in principle” to raise the nation's debt ceiling late Saturday (Sunday, May 28, 2023, in Manila) as they raced to strike a deal to reduce spending and resolve a looming crisis ahead of a June 5 deadline, the House speaker said.

Photo Insert: Both leaders will now sell the deal in both chambers of Congress, where Republicans control the House and Democrats control the Senate.

The deal would avert a US default, but it also risks angering both Democratic and Republican sides with the concessions made to reach it.

Negotiators agreed to some Republican demands for work requirements on recipients of food stamps that had sparked uproar from House Democrats, Lisa Mascaro, Mary Clare Jolonick, Zeke Miller, and Kevin Freking reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Both leaders will now sell the deal in both chambers of Congress, where Republicans control the House and Democrats control the Senate, Clare Foran Manu Raju Jeremy Diamond Melanie Zanona Lauren Fox Priscilla Alvarez and Sam Fossum reported for CNN.

Boston Globe reported that the agreement was hatched as Biden and McCarthy sought to avoid getting swamped with condemnations for delaying a deal that mainstream economists said would hit the global economy even as the US has enough monthly revenues to settle part of the debt.

Other economists maintain that the solution was just to raise taxes and force billionaires to pay taxes at par with wage earners.

Billionaires like Elon Musk pay only a generous 3% tax on their incomes. The bipartisan deal, New York Times reported, would raise the debt limit for two years while cutting and capping some government spending.

But Congressional passage before June 5 is not assured, as right-wing lawmakers are all but certain to revolt.

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