Congressional Democrats pressed Republicans to offer a concrete proposal for raising the nation’s debt ceiling and avoiding a default after a meeting on Tuesday with President Joe Biden.
(Bloomberg) — Congressional Democrats pressed Republicans to offer a concrete proposal for raising the nation’s debt ceiling and avoiding a default after a meeting on Tuesday with President Joe Biden.
“One of the things we want to do on the debt ceiling is say to the Republicans: Show us your plan,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said at the White House. “Let’s see what their plan is on the debt ceiling.”
The US is barreling toward a potential default on its obligations, with Congress so far deadlocked on what to do. Biden has yet to set a meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, whose Republicans are demanding spending cuts in exchange for increasing the borrowing cap.
Biden, before meeting with the Democratic congressional leaders, said he would not allow Republicans to damage the economy amid the standoff over the debt.
“I have no intention of letting the Republicans wreck our economy, nor does everybody around the table, in my opinion,” the president said. “Apparently, they’re genuinely serious about cutting Social Security, cutting Medicare,” he added.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Republicans must detail the cuts they are seeking. “Is your plan to cut or eliminate Social Security? Show the American people,” he said.
Read more: What’s the Debt Ceiling, and Will the US Raise It?
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen last week began taking “extraordinary measures” to avoid a default after the US bumped up against the limit.
Mark Zandi, the Moody’s Analytics chief economist whose fiscal and economic analysis has been regularly cited by the Biden administration, said Monday that his best estimate for when Treasury will run out of financing options is a window from August to “no later than early October.”
The parties are pointedly at odds, even on the terms of any negotiations. McCarthy says that the debt ceiling is a core part of any deficit-reduction talks; Biden says he’ll discuss fiscal reform but that the debt ceiling should not be up for negotiation.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday indicated that it would be up to Biden and McCarthy to avert a catastrophic debt default.
A compromise will “have to come out of the House,” McConnell said, pointing out that any bill that can get the requisite 60 votes in the Democratic-led Senate won’t pass the House, where Republicans hold a slim majority.
Read more: McConnell Says Debt-Ceiling Solution Hinges on McCarthy, Biden
The US debt stands at roughly $31 trillion. It rose nearly $8 trillion in President Donald Trump’s single term and has risen nearly $4 trillion during Biden’s first two years in office.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.