WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden went on the offensive today with a speech attacking Republicans over the looming threat of United States debt default, while pressuring the Democratic Party to enact his stalled multi-trillion-dollar domestic spending agenda.
Back from a rare weekend relaxing at home in Delaware, Biden plunged into the most consequential period of his presidency so far.
On one side, he faces Republican determination to cripple his momentum and recapture control of Congress in next year’s midterm legislative elections. On the other hand, Biden is struggling with infighting between Democrats over his infrastructure and social spending bills.
With the speech calling out Republicans and a trip to Michigan tomorrow to promote his domestic spending plans, the 78-year-old political veteran hopes to regain the initiative.
While Biden’s legacy may ultimately depend on the US$1.2 trillion infrastructure package and potentially US$2 trillion or more for a social spending package, the entire US and global economies could face dire fallout from a US debt default.
Biden today called Republican opponents “reckless and dangerous” for refusing to join Democrats in raising the debt limit.
Republican obstruction could push “our economy over a cliff”, Biden said in a White House speech, warning he could not “guarantee” that a resolution would be found.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says that from October 18, the US will not have the funds to meet its obligations to creditors if Congress does not relax the legal debt ceiling.
Congress has done this dozens of times over the decades since setting borrowing limits, and the votes are usually bipartisan and drama-free.
This year, reflecting the extraordinary acrimony in Washington, Republicans are refusing to vote for lifting the ceiling and vow even to block Democrats from passing a simple vote by themselves along party lines.
Instead, Senate Republicans are attempting to force Democrats to use a complex manoeuvre called reconciliation to take sole responsibility for the debt hike. Democrats so far are refusing, accusing the Republicans of taking the nation’s financial standing hostage.
Today, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said a debt ceiling lift should be voted through “by the end of the week, period”.
“We do not have the luxury of waiting until October 18th, as it is our responsibility to reassure the world that the US meets our obligations in a timely fashion,” Schumer said.
But Republican Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, who wants to use the crisis to paint the Democrats as spendthrifts, said that by refusing the reconciliation avenue, Democrats were “sleepwalking toward yet another preventable crisis”. – AFP, October 5, 2021
