Efforts to compromise / President Biden and McCarthy continue talks on the debt ceiling

2023-05-22 17:30:14, Kosova & Bota CNA

Efforts to compromise / President Biden and McCarthy continue talks on the debt

President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are expected to meet this afternoon regarding the impasse over the debt ceiling. The two are trying to reach a compromise to raise the United States' borrowing limit in time to avoid a financial default with devastating consequences. Talks to prevent the United States from defaulting on its debt continued on Sunday, after President Joe Biden returned to Washington from the G7 meeting in Japan. VOA Correspondent Veronica Balderas Iglesias summarizes the position of Democrats and Republicans on raising the debt limit.

As he prepared to end his participation in the G-7 summit in Hiroshima, President Joe Biden called on Republicans to abandon "extremist positions" to prevent the United States from defaulting on its debts.

"I have done my part and submitted a proposal to cut spending by more than a trillion dollars, in addition to a deficit reduction of nearly $3 trillion that I previously proposed, through a combination of spending cuts and revenue increases. . Now is the time for the other side to make its move" , said the president.

Republicans led by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy insist on deeper spending cuts.

Lawmaker Jodey Arrington explained to ABC's "This Week" why he rejects President Biden's proposal to raise revenue by raising taxes on wealthy individuals and corporations.

"The American people understand that the cost of living crisis they are experiencing is the result of spending, not because we have low taxes. The fact is that we had low taxes when COVID started and we had record tax revenues in 2021."

Republicans are threatening to blow up the economy if they don't get what they want, says Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who also spoke to ABC.

"If we fail to pay the debt, we risk economic depression. 18 million people without jobs. Increase in interest rates. Everything would become much more expensive for the American people."

If the debt ceiling is not raised, tough choices will have to be made, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

"We have to pay the interest on the unpaid debt. We also have obligations to the elderly, dependent on social security, or the military waiting to be paid. "Contractors who have provided services to the federal government and some bills remain unpaid."

Secretary Yellen estimates that the United States will not be able to pay the obligations starting in June, if the Republicans and Democrats in Congress do not reach an agreement./ VOA