House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) announced Monday night at a press conference that the meeting today with President Joe Biden about the national debt ceiling was productive, though no agreement was reached.
Joining McCarthy at the press conference was House Financial Services Chairman Patrick McHenry (R-NC).
While McCarthy said that both sides were on the "same page" about coming up with a mutually agreed upon deal, he emphasized that the meeting should have happened "97 days" ago, long before, as McCarthy said, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen started bringing up the possibility of financial disaster if the debt ceiling was not raised.
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McCarthy and McHenry also said spending cuts must be part of the deal, though McCarthy said there will be no reduction of the defense budget.
The Republican debt ceiling bill, called the Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023, passed in the House on April 26, but it was not brought before the Senate.
Democrats and Republicans have about 10 days to come up with deal to raise or suspend the debt ceiling before the treasury runs out of cash and other ways to pay bills, which could place the U.S. economy into a recession.
It would also cause the U.S. to default on its obligations for the first time in history, stated the Washington Post, which added it could plunge global financial markets into chaos. Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service could also put U.S. credit under review.
Currently, the U.S. has roughly a $31.5 trillion debt.
McCarthy said both his and Biden's teams will continue to work towards a mutually agreed upon deal.
Photo: Gage Skidmore via Flickr Creative Commons
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