Biden Remains Optimistic About Avoiding Default in the United States

Hiroshima (Japan), May 21 – US President Joe Biden has said he still expects to avoid default due to the unresolved problem of reaching the national debt ceiling, and that congressional leaders agree on such a need.

Earlier, White House press secretary Karen Jean-Pierre said that the team of US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy put forward a number of proposals that “nullify” negotiations with the administration on the issue of the country’s public debt.

He added that on his way to the United States he plans to have a conversation with Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. And the US President stressed that “our teams will continue to work on this issue.”

The US leader said that a number of proposals put forward by Republicans to solve the issue of reaching the national debt ceiling is “simply unacceptable.”

The Treasury Department has warned in letters to Congress that by June 1, the US will likely be unable to fully meet its obligations if lawmakers do not authorize an increase in borrowing limits by then. The current US debt ceiling is $31.4 trillion. It was reached last January, when the government took “extraordinary measures” to avoid default – suspending contributions to social funds for state employees. Congress usually increases borrowing limits almost automatically, but this time the Republican opposition, which controls the House of Representatives, demanded in return a cut in budget spending by several trillion dollars. The Republican bill passed in the House, but has no chance in the Democratic Senate and with President Biden, who has indicated he would veto the document if it comes down to it.