New Delhi (India), 4th June 2023: President Joe Biden signed legislation suspending the federal government’s $31.4 trillion debt cap on Saturday, averting a first-ever default with just two days to spare.
The law was passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate this week after contentious discussions between Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
The Treasury Department had warned that if Congress did not act by Monday, it would be unable to pay all of its payments.
Biden signed the law at the White House a day after touting it as a bipartisan achievement in his inaugural Oval Office address to the country.
The legislative signing, which was closed to the press, put a low-key, symbolic closure to an issue that had tormented Washington for months, led Biden to cancel an overseas trip to Asia, and threatened to drag the US into an unprecedented economic disaster.
The White House announced the bill’s signing in a statement, identifying the Democratic and Republican leaders of the House and Senate. The statement said, “Thank you to Speaker McCarthy, Leader Jeffries, Leader Schumer, and Leader McConnell for their partnership.”
The White House later released a ten-second video of Biden calmly signing the document.
Biden said, “It was critical to reach an agreement, and it’s very good news for the American people. No one got everything they wanted. But the American people got what they needed.”
The law was approved by a vote of 314 to 117 in the Republican-controlled House and 63 to 36 in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
Despite the arrangement that will allow the country to pay its obligations, Fitch Ratings stated on Friday that the United States’ “AAA” credit rating would remain under review.
