President Joe Biden has vowed that the U.S. will not default on its bills as the battle of negotiations continue between the White House and Congress.
“The U.S. will not default on its debt as it faces a deadline to increase its borrowing limit and will not default in the future,” Biden said in a White House speech Wednesday before departing for a G7 meeting in Japan.
Biden remains confident an agreement on the debt ceiling will be reached in the coming days, he said, adding that he had a “productive meeting” with House and Senate leaders Tuesday.
The White House has acknowledged real difference in talks with Congress as they’re pressing on House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to accept a deal that isn’t in line with his party.
The Congressional leaders and the White House agree that a default would be catastrophic for the economy and the American people, Biden said.
The negotiations are about budget issues, he said, “America is not a deadbeat nation.”
As the President prepared to travel to Japan for the G7 summit, he said, “I’ll be back around Sunday for a press conference on the debt ceiling.”
Shortly after Biden’s address, a group of House and Senate Republicans held a press conference on the debt ceiling.
U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, a Wyoming Republican, said Biden is playing “Russian roulette” with the American economy.
“It’s time for Joe Biden to take his head out of the sand and sit down and negotiate with Kevin McCarthy,” Barrasso said about the negotiations.
McCarthy, who was present at the meeting with Biden on Tuesday, said the “the only person deciding whether the U.S. will default or not is the president.”
Republicans, according to McCarthy, passed a reasonable and sensible proposal, but Democrats “only think we should tax more,” adding the debt ceiling is a spending problem, not a revenue problem.
“That’s not a revenue problem; it’s a spending problem,” he said.
“Stop hiding and traveling elsewhere, Mr. President,” McCarthy criticizing Biden’s trip to the G-7 Summit in Japan.
Biden is cutting his Asia tour short, canceling planned stops in Papua New Guinea and Australia.
The latest in the stock market as stocks plunged showing signs of growing impatience with the debt ceiling as the NASDAQ 100 (NDX), the S&P 500 (SPX), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are down 0.4%, 0.3%, and 0.5%.
As a recession looms, both parties of Congress are scrambling to make an eleventh hour deal where Republicans and Democrats are from a compromise.
“The economy is already very fragile and on the precipice of recession,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics. Zandi predicted a recession will hit sometime in the second half of the year.
Produced in association with Benzinga
