{"id":573839,"date":"2023-05-10T02:53:27","date_gmt":"2023-05-09T23:53:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/debt-meeting-productive-default-not-an-option\/"},"modified":"2023-05-10T02:53:27","modified_gmt":"2023-05-09T23:53:27","slug":"debt-meeting-productive-default-not-an-option","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/debt-meeting-productive-default-not-an-option\/","title":{"rendered":"#Debt meeting ‘productive,’ default ‘not an option’"},"content":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 President Joe Biden and congressional leaders confronted each other on the debt limit impasse Tuesday, ending their meeting with no breakthrough but agreeing to meet again this week to try to avert the looming risk of an unprecedented government default<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Speaking at the White House, Biden described the talks as \u201cproductive\u201d even though House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said after the high-stakes Oval Office meeting that he \u201cdidn\u2019t see any new movement\u201d toward resolving the stalemate.<\/p>\n

Lawmakers and their staffs were to continue discussions as soon as Tuesday evening on the annual federal budget at Biden\u2019s encouragement. Biden and the congressional leaders are to meet again on Friday.<\/p>\n

After the hour-long discussion in the Oval Office, Biden said he was \u201cabsolutely certain\u201d that the country could avert a default, declaring that failure to meet America’s obligations \u201cis not an option.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, time is short. The government is bumping up against its legal limit for borrowing and will not be able to pay all of its bills as soon as June 1 if Congress doesn\u2019t agree to raise the debt ceiling. That failure would send the country into default with wide-reaching economic impacts at home and around the world.<\/p>\n

Republicans came to the White House hoping to negotiate sweeping cuts to federal spending in exchange for allowing new borrowing to avoid default. Biden, on the other hand, reinforced his opposition to allowing the country\u2019s full faith and credit to be held \u201chostage\u201d to negotiations \u2014 while affirming his willingness to hold talks on the budget only after default is no longer a threat.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told congressional leaders that I\u2019m prepared to begin a separate discussion about my budget, spending priorities, but not under the threat of default,\u201d Biden said.<\/p>\n

Outside the White House, McCarthy said, \u201cI asked the president this simple question, Does he not believe there\u2019s any place we could find savings.”<\/p>\n

As the president welcomed McCarthy, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, he had quipped to reporters, \u201cWe\u2019re going to get started, solve all the world\u2019s problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

Biden described the meeting’s tone as \u201cvery measured and low key,\u201d adding, \u201coccasionally there would be a little bit of an assertion that maybe was a little over the top from the speaker.\u201d<\/p>\n

He especially took issue with McCarthy’s branding as a lie the Democrats’ assertion that the Republicans’ budget restraints would hurt veterans.<\/p>\n

Still, Biden added, \u201cI trust Kevin will try to do what he says.\u201d<\/p>\n

There seemed to be at least a bit of daylight between McConnell, who has let his House counterpart take the lead in negotiations and backed him up ahead of the White House meeting, and McCarthy.<\/p>\n

The Senate leader categorically said, \u201cThe United States is not going to default. It never has and it never will.” The speaker, though, simply said, \u201cI\u2019ve done everything in my power to make sure we will not default.\u201d<\/p>\n

Democrats said there is room to \u201ccome together\u201d on spending cuts as part of the budget process, but quickly jumped on McCarthy’s refusal to rule out the possibility of default, with Schumer saying the Republican is \u201cgreatly endangering America.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo use the risk of default, with all the dangers that has for the American people as a hostage and say it\u2019s my way or no way, are mostly my way or no way, is dangerous,” Schumer said.<\/p>\n

McCarthy said Biden had directed their staffs to continue discussions, and that the leaders themselves would convene again in person on Friday at the White House.<\/p>\n

While Biden ruled out default, he also all but dismissed trying to unilaterally prevent it, saying that he didn’t believe invoking the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which says the validity of the federal debt shall not be questioned, was a solution to the current impasse.<\/p>\n

White House lawyers will pursue the idea further, he added, but “the problem is it would have to be litigated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before the White House meeting, both McCarthy and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre insisted it would be simple to avert default \u2014 if only the other side capitulated.<\/p>\n

The chasm between these opposite postures had fomented uncertainty that is roiling financial markets and threatens to turn into a tidal wave that swamps the country\u2019s economy. Default, officials say, would have sweeping impacts, threatening to disrupt Social<\/a> Security payments to retirees, destabilize global markets and tilt the nation into a potentially debilitating recession.<\/p>\n

Last month, House Republicans passed a sweeping bill to slash spending, an opening offer in negotiations. But that legislation has no chance in the Democratic Senate and the White House has threatened to veto it. Republicans hope that bill would achieve $4.5 trillion in deficit savings through cuts in spending, eliminating tax breaks for investing in clean energy, and reversing Biden\u2019s plans to reduce the burdens of student loan debt.<\/p>\n

Referring to the House bill, McCarthy said, \u201cWe both said default is not an option \u2014 but only one of us took action.\u201d<\/p>\n

Already looking past the meeting, Biden on Wednesday is to go to Westchester County, New York, where he plans to deliver a speech on how proposed spending cuts app<\/a>roved by House Republicans could hurt teachers, older adults needing food aid and veterans seeking health care.<\/p>\n

It’s part of a broader campaign by Biden to try to paint the Republican cuts as draconian. Aides believe that message both strengthens his position in talks with the GOP and boosts his nascent 2024 reelection effort. His Wednesday visit will be to a congressional district won by Biden in 2020 but now represented by a Republican, Rep. Mike Lawler.<\/p>\n

Because the House Republican bill does not specifically spell out which federal programs would be cut, Democrats have gone on offense warning of steep hits to popular programs. The Democratic-aligned group House Majority Forward announced a $1 million campaign Tuesday amplifying such cuts, while the House Republicans’ campaign committee countered with its own effort portraying Democrats as \u201caddicted to spending.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCarthy rejected as he said his caucus would take steps to increase funding for veterans despite their overall proposal. \u201cFirst of all, cutting the veterans is a lie,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

While calling for a \u201cclean\u201d increase to the debt limit, Biden has said he is open to discussion about how to reduce the federal deficit. His budget plan would trim deficits by nearly $3 trillion over a decade, mainly through tax increases on the wealthy and changes such as letting the government negotiate over prescription drug prices.<\/p>\n

In response to McCarthy\u2019s demand to claw back some unspent funds from his sweeping COVID-19 relief package, Biden said he would \u201ctake a hard look\u201d at doing so independent of the talks to raise the debt limit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t need it all, but the question is what obligations were there made, commitments, made, money not dispersed, etc.,\u201d Biden said, adding: \u201cIt\u2019s on the table.\u201d<\/p>\n

Biden added the debt limit should be raised for \u201cmore than a year, so that we can move things along.\u201d The House GOP bill raised the possibility of another showdown over the government\u2019s borrowing authority in the heat of a presidential election next year.<\/p>\n

While the financial markets<\/a> have started to show some jitters, the business community has thus far largely avoided backing either side in the showdown and instead called for a deal to be struck.<\/p>\n

\u201cSecuring a bipartisan path forward to raise the debt ceiling could not be more urgent,\u201d said Josh Bolten, the head of the Business Roundtable, a group that represents CEOs. \u201cThe cost of a default, or even the threat of a default, is simply too high.\u201d<\/p>\n

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce suggested its own priorities for a swift deal Tuesday, saying “there are no two better places to start than permitting reform and an agreement on spending caps.\u201d<\/p>\n

Biden’s refusal to negotiate on the debt limit is informed by his first-hand experience in 2011, when he was Barack Obama’s vice president and the administration made painful concessions to Republicans in an effort to avoid default. Biden has told aides it’s an experience he refuses to repeat, not just for himself, but for future presidents.<\/p>\n

Notably, though, the administration has not ruled out a short-term increase in the debt limit that would align the deadline to increase federal borrowing authority with the talks on government spending that must be resolved by Sept. 30.<\/p>\n

Originally published <\/span>

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WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 President Joe Biden and congressional leaders confronted each other on the debt limit impasse Tuesday, ending their meeting with no breakthrough but agreeing to meet again this week to try to avert the looming risk of an unprecedented government default. Speaking at the White House, Biden described the talks as \u201cproductive\u201d even…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":573840,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/l.Nv1jPmbDJ11dVf_zNdlg--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyMDA7aD04MDA-\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/ap.org\/03cf0ff9d87213dbf5e35b99fd83d2c8","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-573839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573839","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=573839"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573839\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/573840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=573839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=573839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=573839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}