With only two days left, President Biden signed legislation

on

Saturday lifting the nations debt ceiling, preventing an unprecedented bankruptcy of the federal government debt.

It was a decidedly subdued denouement of a months-long drama that upset financial markets at home and abroad and frightened anxious retirees and civil society organizations.

make contingency plans

in case the country was unable to pay all its bills. Instead of holding a public ceremony with legislators from both parties to demonstrate the bipartisanship that Biden

at the Oval Office address

on Friday night, the president privately signed the legislation reflecting the tight deadline facing the country’s leaders.

The Treasury Department had warned that the country would run out of cash to pay all its bills

on

Monday, which would have sent shockwaves through the US and global economy.

The White House

released a photo of the president announcing the signing of the legislation to the determined bureau. , done privately at the White House, in an emailed statement in which Biden thanked congressional leaders for working together.

In a brief statement, Biden thanked Democratic and Republican congressional leaders for working together, a heartfelt message that contrasted with the resentment that initially characterized the debt debate.

No matter how harsh our politics get, we shouldn’t see them all as opponents, but as fellow Americans, Biden said in a video message released after the signing. He said it was important to stop screaming, lower the temperature and work together to pursue progress, secure prosperity and deliver on America’s promise for all. Debt ceiling votes split Democratic candidates for Senate seat Feinstein The stalemate began when Republicans refused to raise the country’s borrowing limit unless Democrats agreed to cut spending. Finally, the White House kicked in for weeks

intense negotiations

of

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy

(R-Bakersfield) California, to reach a deal.

The final deal, passed by the House on Wednesday and the Senate on Thursday, suspends the debt limit until 2025 after the next presidential election and limits government spending. It gives lawmakers budget targets for the next two years in hopes of ensuring fiscal stability as the political season heats up.

Raising the country’s debt limit, now at $31.4 trillion, will allow the government to borrow to pay off debts already incurred.

After Congress passed the legislation, Biden took the opportunity to deliver his maiden speech from the Oval Office as president on Friday.

No one got everything they wanted, but the American people got what they needed, he said, emphasizing compromise and consensus in the deal. We have averted economic crisis and economic collapse.

to pray

praised the performance of his first term as he ran for re-election, took the opportunity to list the accomplishments of his first term as he ran for re-election,

including support for high-tech manufacturing, infrastructure investment and financial incentives to fight climate change. He also highlighted how he blunted Republican efforts to reverse his agenda and push for deeper budget cuts.

We are simultaneously cutting spending and reducing deficits, Biden said. We’re protecting key priorities, from Social Security to Medicare to Medicaid to veterans to our transformational investments in infrastructure and clean energy.

While he promised to continue working with Republicans, Biden also drew contrasts from the opposing side, especially when it comes to raising taxes on the wealthy, something the Democratic president has been looking for. I’ll be back, he said. With your help I will win.

Biden’s remarks were the Democratic president’s most detailed comments on the compromise he and his staff negotiated. He remained largely silent publicly during the high-stakes talks, a decision that frustrated some members of his party but was intended to give both sides room to reach an agreement and for lawmakers to vote it on at his desk.

Biden praised McCarthy and his negotiators for acting in good faith, and all congressional leaders for ensuring the legislation passed quickly. They acted responsibly and put the welfare of the country above politics, he said.

In addition to spending restrictions, coveralls,

the bill of 99 pages

limits spending for the next two years and

changes a number of policies, including imposing new job requirements for older Americans receiving food aid and giving the green light to an Appalachian natural gas pipeline that many Democrats oppose. Some environmental regulations were changed to help streamline approvals for infrastructure and energy projects, something that moderates in Congress have long sought.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates it could actually expand overall eligibility for federal food aid, by eliminating job requirements for veterans, the homeless and youth leaving foster care.

The legislation also supports defense and veterans funds, cuts some new money for the Internal Revenue Service and rejects Biden’s call to reverse Trump-era tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy to help the country’s deficits cover. But the White House said the IRS’s plans to step up enforcement of tax laws for high-income individuals and businesses will continue.

The agreement imposes an automatic 1% blanket cut on spending programs if Congress fails to pass its annual spending bills, a measure designed to pressure lawmakers from both parties to reach a deal before the end of the fiscal year in September .

More Democrats than Republicans supported the legislation in both chambers, but both parties were critical of its passage. In the Senate, the count was 63-36, including 46 Democrats and independents and 17 Republicans in favor, 31 Republicans along with four Democrats and an independent caucuses opposed to the Democrats.

The vote in the house was 314-117.

___AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.