Biden: Making progress in debt limit talks

US President Joe Biden said they had productive discussions with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on the debt limit and progress was made.

Biden told reporters at the White House that he had “some productive conversations with McCarthy, their teams continue to negotiate and are making progress.”

TIME FOR CONGRESS TO ACT

Emphasizing that the United States has repeatedly made it clear that it has no option to default on its debt, Biden said: “The American people deserve to know that Social Security payments will be made, that VA hospitals will remain open, and that will achieve economic progress. done, and we’ll keep doing it.”

“Default risks all of that,” Biden said. Congressional leaders understand this and all agree there will be no default. It is time for Congress to act. Now,” he said.

MCCARTHY Optimistic

McCarthy, for his part, told reporters that he is optimistic about the possibility of reaching an agreement and said that talks are continuing.

Noting that neither side will receive all of the demands they started in negotiations, McCarthy said: “I don’t think everyone is happy at the end of the day.” he said.

The US reached the debt limit of $31.4 trillion on January 19 and the US Treasury began taking extraordinary measures to avoid exceeding the limit.

DEPARTURE ON JUNE 1

The Treasury Department had warned that emergency measures could run out on June 1.

Despite the proximity of the date, an agreement has not yet been reached in the negotiations between the White House and the Republicans to increase the budget limit. (AA)