Pres. Biden, house finally reach a deal following talks on Sunday

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Pres. Biden, house finally reach a deal following talks on Sunday

IN the United States, the Democrats and the Republicans prevented a potentially catastrophic default on debt repayments as both sides worked through and finally reached a deal on Sunday.

 “So we worked through the night last night, we’re finalizing the language of an agreement with the president that I believe is worthy of the American people,” said Kevin McCarthy, U.S. House Speaker.

Removing a potential issue in the 2024 presidential election, the United States debt limit has now been suspended until the 1st of January, 2025. Currently, it is 31.4 trillion U.S. dollars and the nation’s total debt owing to other countries is 7.3 trillion U.S. dollars.

The deal means discretionary spending is now capped during fiscal years 2024 and 2025. the agreement keeps non-defense spending flat next year, with a 1% rise the following year.

Defense spending on the other hand would increase to 886 billion U.S. dollars which amounts to a 3% rise this year.

It can be noted that President Joe Biden wanted to spend more and raise taxes while Republicans fought to reduce spending or curve the increase in spending – something that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy called “the Democrats’ spending addiction”.

In addition, as part of the deal:

  • funding for veterans’ healthcare remains intact
  • unused funds appropriated during the COVID-19 pandemic are rescinded
  • the student loans payment moratorium enacted in 2020 ends on the 1st of September 2023, while the partial student loan forgiveness plan introduced by the Biden administration remains unaffected

These as well as other parts of the agreement.

Meanwhile, the president urges both parties to meet obligations and continue building what he called ‘the world’s strongest economy’.

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