An agreement was reached on Tuesday to allow the U.S. Congress to vote on an increase in the debt ceiling as soon as possible, so as to prevent the United States from defaulting. This is an imminent threat with disastrous consequences.
The debt ceiling is the maximum amount of US debt. The U.S. Congress stipulates that it must be cancelled or suspended before December 15, otherwise the U.S. will not be able to repay creditors overnight and will have to cut spending.
This unprecedented situation will plunge the U.S. finance and economy and even the international finance and economy into an unknown situation, and may lead to economic recession.
Like almost all major economies, the United States, which has relied on credit for public spending for decades, has raised this famous “ceiling” many times, which usually requires the support of Democrats and Republicans.
But the Republican camp refused to agree to this procedure this time, ensuring that it was equivalent to giving Joe Biden a blank check, and they accused him of contributing to uncontrolled inflation.
After several weeks of negotiations, they finally approved a complicated and special parliamentary procedure on Tuesday, so the Democrats only need their votes to increase the debt ceiling of the Senate.
Mitch McConnell, the powerful Republican Senate leader, said on Tuesday, “I think it is in the best interest of the country to avoid default.”
The procedure was voted by the House of Representatives on Tuesday night, which will allow the Senate to raise the debt ceiling this weekend. Then the House of Commons will have to take turns verifying this increase before December 15.
The urgency is twofold. Because in addition to this deadline, Congress also needs to get rid of this website as soon as possible to solve Joe Biden’s huge social and ecological plan, so the president promised to “rebuild (the United States) better.”
This $1.75 billion project, which includes providing free kindergartens for everyone and generous funding to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, has been blocked in the U.S. Congress for several months.
Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer reiterated on Tuesday that he is willing to offer Joe Biden this political victory “before the Christmas holiday.”