Biden Addresses Oval Office on Budget, Debt Ceiling

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden congratulated “crisis averted” in his inaugural address to the nation from the Oval Office on Friday night and was ready for what was next. sign a budget agreement This eliminates the possibility of a first-ever government default that would shock the US and global economy.

The bipartisan bill was approved by the Senate late Thursday night after further passage through the House late the night before. Biden is scheduled to sign the bill at the White House on Saturday, with just two days left before the Treasury Department warns the United States cannot meet its obligations.

An agreement was made hastily Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, gave Republicans some of the federal spending cuts they requested, but kept the line on key Democrat priorities. Raise the debt ceiling until 2025 after the 2024 presidential election, and give lawmakers budget targets for the next two years, in hopes of ensuring fiscal stability as the political season heats up.

“No one got everything they wanted, but the American people got what they needed,” Biden said, emphasizing “compromises and agreements” in the deal. “We avoided an economic crisis and an economic collapse.”

“We’re cutting spending and we’re cutting the deficit at the same time,” Biden said. “From Social Security to Medicare to Medicaid to veterans to transformative investments in infrastructure and clean energy, we are protecting important priorities.”

Biden’s remarks were the most detailed comments by a Democratic president on the compromise negotiated by the president and his staff. He remained largely silent in public during high-stakes talks, and the decision irritated some party members, but both sides reached an agreement and gave lawmakers room to vote at his desk. It was meant to give.

“Passing this budget deal was extremely important,” Mr. Biden said. “The stakes couldn’t be higher.”

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday that Biden used the opportunity to address the nation for the first time from behind an imposing desk in the Oval Office, saying, “The president just I just wanted the American people to understand how important it was.” Consider how important it was to do this in a bipartisan way to get this done. ”

Biden praised McCarthy and his negotiators for acting with integrity and all congressional leaders for ensuring the bill passed quickly. “They acted responsibly and put national interests ahead of politics,” he said.

Overall, the 99-page bill limits spending over the next two years, imposes new labor requirements on older Americans who receive food aid, and cuts the Appalachian natural gas pipes, which many Democrats oppose. Change some policies, like greenlighting the line.Some environmental rules have changed Helps streamline approval Participation in infrastructure and energy projects is a move long sought by moderates in Congress.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that removing the work requirement for veterans, homeless, and young people who leave foster care could actually expand the overall reach of federal food aid.

The bill also increases funding for the Defense Forces and Veterans, cuts some of the new funding for the Internal Revenue Service, and provides tax cuts for Trump-era businesses and the wealthy to help finance the country’s deficit. It is a content that rejects Mr. Biden’s call to withdraw. But the White House said the IRS plan to strengthen tax law enforcement for high-income earners and businesses will continue.

The agreement also provides for an automatic 1% overall reduction in spending programs if Congress does not approve the annual spending bill. This is a move aimed at putting pressure on lawmakers from both parties to reach an agreement by the end of the fiscal year in September.

Democrats supported the bill more than Republicans in both houses of Congress, but both parties were critical of the bill’s passage. The Senate tally was 63 to 36, with 46 Democrats and independents, 17 Republicans, 31 Republicans and 4 Democrats, and 1 caucus independent with the opposing Democrats.

The vote in the House was 314 to 117.