President Joe Biden celebrated a “crisis averted” in his first address to the nation from the Oval Office Friday night, poised to Signing the budget agreement He eliminates the possibility of an unprecedented government deficit that he said would have been a disaster for the US and global economies.
The partisan measure was approved by the Senate late Thursday night after it passed the House in another session late the night before. Biden is set to sign it at the White House on Saturday, just two days until the Treasury Department warns that the United States will not be able to meet its obligations.
“Passage of this budget agreement was critical. The stakes couldn’t be higher,” Biden said. “Nothing would be more catastrophic,” he said, than defaulting on the country’s debt.
The agreement has been split By Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, giving Republicans some of the federal spending cuts they’ve demanded, but preserving key Democrat priorities. It raises the debt limit through 2025 — after the 2024 presidential election — and gives lawmakers budget targets for the next two years, hoping to ensure financial stability as the political season heats up.
“Nobody got everything they wanted but the American people got what they needed,” Biden said, emphasizing “compromise and consensus” in the deal. “We have avoided an economic crisis and economic collapse.”
Biden used the opportunity to detail the achievements of his first term while running for re-election, including support for high-tech manufacturing, infrastructure investments and financial incentives to combat climate change.
“We’re cutting spending and cutting the deficit at the same time,” Biden said. “We protect important priorities from Social Security to Medicare to Medicaid for Veterans to our transformative investments in infrastructure and clean energy.”
Biden also offered a renewed showcase of his governing style, which he has described as less brash and cooler temperatures after four years of President Donald Trump’s rule.
“I know bipartisanship is difficult,” he said. And loneliness is hard. But we can’t stop trying.”
Even as he vowed to continue working with Republicans, Biden has also drawn inconsistencies with the opposition party, particularly when it comes to raising taxes on the wealthy, which the Democratic president has sought.
It’s something that suggested he might need to wait until a second term.
He said “I will be back”. With your help, I will win.
Biden’s remarks were the most detailed comments from the Democratic president about the settlement he and his staff have negotiated. He has remained largely quiet in public during the high-stakes talks, a decision that frustrated some members of his party, but was meant to give space for both sides to work out a deal and for lawmakers to vote on his desk.
White House press secretary Karen Jean-Pierre said Friday that Biden was using the opportunity to deliver his first address to the nation from behind the assertive desk in the Oval Office because he “just wanted to make sure the American people understood how important it was” to get this done, how important it was to do it. In a bipartisan way.”
Biden praised McCarthy and his negotiators for working in good faith, and all congressional leaders for ensuring the legislation was passed quickly. “They acted responsibly, putting the country’s interest ahead of politics,” he said.
Overall, the 99-page bill restricts spending for the next two years and changes some policies, including imposing new work requirements for older Americans on food aid and greenlighting the Appalachian natural gas pipeline that many Democrats oppose. Some environmental rules have been modified To help streamline approvals for infrastructure and energy projects — a move long sought by moderates in Congress.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that it could effectively expand full eligibility for federal food assistance, while eliminating work requirements for veterans, the homeless, and youth leaving foster homes.
The legislation also supports money for defense and veterans, slashes some new funds for the Internal Revenue Service and rejects Biden’s call to roll back Trump-era tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy to help cover the country’s deficit. But the White House said the IRS’ plans to ramp up enforcement of tax laws for high-income earners and corporations will continue.
The agreement also mandates an automatic 1% public cut to spending programs if Congress fails to approve annual spending laws — a measure intended to pressure lawmakers from both parties to reach consensus before the fiscal year ends in September.
In both houses, Democrats supported the legislation more than Republicans, but both parties were critical to its passage. In the Senate, the tally was 63-36, including 46 Democrats and independents and 17 Republicans in favor, 31 Republicans along with four Democrats and one independent and opposition Democrats.
The vote in the House of Representatives was 314-117.