President Joe Biden said this Wednesday “confident” in obtaining an agreement on the debt ceiling that will avoid a default by the United States. Speaking briefly at the White House before leaving for Japan where he will participate in a G7 summit, Joe Biden clarified that the congressional officials he met with on Tuesday “agreed to avoid default” by the United States. “I am confident that we are going to have a budget agreement and that the United States will not default,” the president said, repeating that such a default would be “catastrophic for the American economy and the American people.”
At this budget point, and while the Republicans ask for spending cuts, the Democratic president reiterated that he is not willing to accept commitments “that would affect the health benefits” of the Americans. Joe Biden was referring to a Republican bill that seeks to take away access to Medicaid – health insurance for the poorest – for those who do not work and which is one of the conflicting points in the negotiations.
The leader of the Republicans in the House of Representatives says he is “optimistic”
The president also clarified that he had “cut short” his trip to Asia after the G7 “to be there for the final negotiations and sign an agreement with congressional officials.” Joe Biden has thus canceled his diplomatic tour of Papua New Guinea and Australia.
He added that he would remain in “close contact” with House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy and would hold a news conference on Sunday. For his part, Kevin McCarthy declared Wednesday “optimistic about the ability to work together.” The day before, he had praised “an improved process” in conducting the discussions when the White House sent two top officials to deal directly with Republican leaders.
Positive reaction on Wall Street
Mardi une reunion avait été tenue à la Maison Blanche avec ces dirigeants du Congrès afin d’obtenir un feu vert pour le relèvement du plafond de la dette et éviter ainsi un défaut de paiement des Etats-Unis, qui, sans accord, pourrait arisen dans two weeks. Congress has the prerogative to authorize the United States, the world’s largest borrower, to issue more debt by raising its debt limit, which today amounts to more than 31 trillion dollars, an amount greater than its Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
On Wall Street, investors clearly welcomed these statements of confidence about the debt stagnation that has darkened the economic horizon for weeks. The Dow Jones index gained 1.11% and the Nasdaq 0.88% at mid-session.
Source: BFM TV
