Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sent a letter on Monday to Congressional Leadership saying that the United States is still projected to exhaust all options to keep paying the country’s bills as early as June 1st, leaving Congress with fewer than three weeks to avert a potential worst-case scenario.
President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California) are scheduled to meet Tuesday afternoon to discuss a way to break the logjam on the debt ceiling, with fears of a self-inflicted economic calamity growing as Republicans demand deep spending cuts. Also joining the meeting will be Vice President Kamala Harris, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jefferies (D-New York). Failure to reach an agreement to lift the borrowing limit threatens the first-ever default on the nation’s $31.4 trillion debt, an outcome that could prove catastrophic for the U.S. economy and upend the political landscape. White House officials don’t expect any kind of completed framework from Tuesday’s meeting with congressional leaders and they aren’t bracing for any kind of agreement before President Biden leaves for Japan on Wednesday for the G7 Summit. There are potential areas of common ground that White House and Congressional staff have identified in daily talks over the last six days, including permitting reform and the possibility of spending cuts on a parallel track to raising the debt ceiling. And while President Biden has said that cuts to federal aid that could throw Americans into poverty are off the table, the president has signaled that he may be open to concessions on work requirements in order to reach a spending deal. Speaker McCarthy on Tuesday said work requirements for public assistance programs are a nonnegotiable, laying out one of his first hard stances ahead of today’s meeting.
For today, the Senate convened at 10:00 A.M. and is considering H.J.Res.42, Disapproving the action of the District of Columbia Council in approving the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022.
The House also convened at 10:00 A.M. and is considering H. Res. ___ – Providing for consideration of H.R. 2494, the POLICE Act of 2023, H.R. 3091, the Federal Law Enforcement Officer Service Weapon Purchase Act, and H. Con. Res. 40, Expressing support for local law enforcement officers and condemning efforts to defund or dismantle local law enforcement agencies.
