Biden said that Republican proposals have been “unacceptable” as the US scrambles to avoid a default.
US President Joe Biden has opposed a debt ceiling proposal that would supposedly benefit “wealthy tax cheats” and “crypto traders”.
In his remarks yesterday at the Group of Seven (G7) Summit in Hiroshima, Biden said that a bipartisan agreement is necessary to avoid the US defaulting on its debt, but Republican proposals have thus far been “quite frankly, unacceptable”.
Biden returned from Japan earlier than planned to continue the negotiations.
Republican proposals, according to Biden, seek to protect $200 billion in excess payments for pharmaceutical industries and a $30 billion tax break for the oil industry while neglecting Medicaid and American public sector employees.
Read more: U.S. Treasury warns of ‘economic catastrophe’ if debt ceiling isn’t raised on June 1
He said: “Let me be clear: I’m not going to agree to a deal that protects, for example, a $30 billion tax break for the oil industry, which made $200 billion last year — they don’t need an incentive of another $30 billion — while putting healthcare of 21 million Americans at risk by going after Medicaid.”
The President also managed to lump “crypto traders” with “wealthy tax cheats”, outlining that he will not agree to a deal that “protects wealthy tax cheats and crypto traders while putting food assistance at risk for nearly a hundred — excuse me — nearly 1 million Americans.”
“I’ve done my part”, Biden said, having put forward a proposal that cuts spending by $1 trillion dollars on top of a $3 trillion in deficit reduction proposed through spending cuts and new revenues.
“It’s time for Republicans to accept that there is no bipartisan deal to be made solely — solely on their partisan terms.”
What will happen if an agreement isn’t reached?
Biden reassured the press room that defaulting isn’t an option, stating: “America has never defaulted — never defaulted on our debt, and it never will.”
A US debt default would have catastrophic consequences on the global economy because the US dollar serves as the world’s primary reserve currency and is widely used in international trade and financial transactions.
It would also hugely impact the lives of American citizens, particularly for those on some form of government assistance.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has repeatedly warned Congress that a failure to increase the debt limit could trigger an “economic catastrophe”, warning that a default would cause “severe hardship to American families, harm our global leadership position, and raise questions about our ability to defend our national security interests.”
Negotiations are ongoing and must be completed by June 1, which is when the US will be unable to pay its debts.
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