Debt ceiling is over – negotiation agreement
Jalonick & Kim 5/29. Mary Clare Jalonick is a reporter at The Associated Press with a Bachelor’s in Political Science from Davidson College – Seung Min Kim is an American journalist who is a White House correspondent for the Associated Press and a political analyst for CNN with an M.A. in Journalism from American University, (Associated Press, “Debt ceiling takeaways: McCarthy's balancing act, Biden's choice and the challenges ahead”, 5/29/23, https://fox11online.com/news/nation-world/us-debt-ceiling-what-in-what-out-agreement-takeaways-president-joe-biden-house-speaker-kevin-mccarthy-treasury-secretary-janet-yellen-spending-limit-veterans-care-republicans-democrats-capitol-hill-politics)//CG
WASHINGTON — It’s a deal no one in Washington claims to really like. But after weeks of negotiations, President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have struck an agreement to raise the debt ceiling and avert a potentially devastating government default.
The stakes are high for both men — and now each will have to persuade lawmakers in their parties to vote for it. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said last week that the United States could run out of cash to pay the bills and default on its obligations if the debt ceiling is not raised by June 5.
The ultimate agreement, hammered out by Biden, McCarthy and a small group of their deputies, is a two-year budget deal that would essentially hold spending flat for 2024, while boosting it for defense and veterans, and capping increases at 1% for 2025. It would suspend the debt limit until January 2025, after the next presidential election. Republicans had insisted on reducing spending and had passed their own bill with much larger cuts last month.
The package would also make policy tweaks, including by adding work requirements for some food aid recipients and streamlining an environmental law that Republicans say has made it harder to build energy projects.