In his first address to the country from the Oval Office on Friday night, President Joe Biden declared a "crisis averted" as he prepared to sign a budget agreement that would have prevented the possibility of an unprecedented federal default, which he claimed would have been disastrous for the American and world economies.
Saved from impending disaster
The passage of the bill, according to President Biden, was a "critical step forward to prevent a first-ever default." In a statement, Mr. Biden, who called congressional leaders following the vote, described the budget pact as a "bipartisan compromise." "Neither side got what it wanted."
On Wednesday, the House passed legislation to suspend the debt ceiling and establish federal spending caps by a wide bipartisan margin in order to save the country from impending economic disaster. The legislation was negotiated by President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The bill would defer the federal debt ceiling for two years, allowing the government to borrow as much money as it needs to pay its debts, while also imposing spending caps for the next two years and a number of other policy changes that Republicans demanded in exchange for preventing a disastrous default.
A bipartisan compromise
The nation's borrowing ceiling was about to be reached when the 314-to-117 vote took place, days after protracted negotiations between White House negotiators and top House Republicans resulted in a ground-breaking compromise.
Far-right and hard-left politicians both opposed the agreement, so it was up to a bipartisan coalition led by Democrats to push the bill through. They did this in an effort to end the fiscal impasse that had seized Washington for weeks. On the final vote, the legislation received the support of 149 Republicans and 165 Democrats and the opposition of 71 Republicans and 46 Democrats.
