WASHINGTON, May 22 (Prensa Latina) US House of Representatives Leader Kevin McCarthy today described his meeting with President Joe Biden on the debt ceiling as “productive,” although there was no consensus.
After concluding their meeting at the White House, McCarthy adopted an optimistic tone, saying he intended to speak to the president every day until they reached an agreement.
In response to a question about whether work requirements for assistance programs such as food vouchers are still on the table: “Nothing has been agreed upon, everything is being talked about.”
He expressed hope for an agreement that Republicans and Democrats could vote on, according to CBS News.
“We literally talked about our differences and our ideas,” McCarthy said. “This is fruitful for me. It is not progress, but a product,” he added.
He also confirmed that a pure increase in the debt ceiling was off the table, even if there was no agreement at the last minute.
“A clean debt ceiling can’t be approved in the Senate. Not in the Chamber. So why waste time on something that won’t pass instead of finding something that is a solution to the problem?”, he noted.
For his part, Biden said they are “optimistic that some progress can be made.”
The president noted that both sides agree that suspending payments is not an option, and that it is necessary to reduce the federal deficit.
The president cut short his trip to Asia and returned from Japan late Sunday so he could work on a deal in the final days before the June 1 deadline.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stressed Monday that the United States may not be able to pay its bills and it will take some time for any legislation to pass in both houses of Congress, even once the president and McCarthy reach an agreement.
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