President Biden praised a bipartisan agreement that raised the debt ceiling and averted a calamitous debt default in a rare Oval Office speech Friday.
The president outlined the economic stakes that leaders faced and declared that a crisis had been averted.
“There were extreme voices threatening to take America for the first time in our 247 year history and a default on our national debt,” he said. “Nothing. Nothing would have been more irresponsible. Nothing would have been more catastrophic.”
President Joe Biden waves from the South Lawn of the White House on Thursday.
Jim Watson / AFP via Getty Images
He warned how close the economy was to being thrown into recession as a result. He said retirement accounts for millions of Americans would have been decimated and 8 million Americans would have lost their jobs.
“No one got everything they wanted, but the American people got what they needed,” Biden said.
The roughly 15-minute address served as a victory lap for the president who notched another win after the Senate passed the legislation he negotiated with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to raise the debt ceiling for two years and cut federal spending.
Biden listed all his administration priorities that he were protected as part of the deal, including preservation of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
Passage of the bipartisan bill comes just days ahead of when Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned that the government would begin to run out of money to pay its bills.
It also ends months of tensions in Washington after Republicans refused to raise the debt limit unless Biden and the Democrats placed more restrictions on federal spending.
Biden even considered invoking the 14th Amendment of the Constitution to keep making payments on the nation’s debt — but ultimately determined there was not enough time left before a looming deadline to use the untested strategy.
In his address Friday night, Biden singled out McCarthy, whom he said was respectful and straightforward in his negotiations.
“Both sides operated in good faith,” he said. “Both sides kept their word.”
He said he would sign the bill on Saturday. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Friday that the president needs to wait for the House and Senate to send him the bill, something that is not expected to be possible Friday.
The compromise cuts federal spending by $1.5 trillion over a decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office. It also imposes stricter work requirements for food stamps.
And it claws back money for the IRS and approximately $27 billion in funding to federal agencies intended to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
Some far-right Republicans opposed the deal, arguing it didn’t cut enough spending, while some hard-left Democrats said the increased work requirements could lead to more hunger.
But a majority of Republicans and Democrats came together to pass the legislation, ending months of partisan rancor and economic fears.