World News | White House insists on unconditional debt ceiling resolution

WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 (PTI) — The White House on Tuesday insisted on unconditional handling of the looming debt ceiling crisis and there is no room for negotiation on it.

“This shouldn’t be political brinkmanship. We should deal with the debt ceiling without conditions. It’s important. We’re not going to fix it; we’re not going to negotiate it. That’s the fundamental job of Congress,” White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre told reporters at his daily press conference.

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During the last administration, Democrats and Republicans tackled the debt ceiling three times. “Let’s not forget this,” she said.

Last week, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sent warning signs of the looming debt crisis in a letter to Congress. Given the deep divide between the ruling Democrats and the opposition Republicans who hold a majority in the House of Representatives, failure to deal with the issue could lead to the U.S. defaulting on its debt commitments, something that has never happened in the past.

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Republicans have so far held off on raising the debt ceiling, now at $31.381 trillion, approved by Congress last month. The debt limit is the total amount the U.S. government is authorized to borrow to meet its existing legal obligations and is scheduled to reach its statutory limit on January 19.

The United States is the only industrialized country with such an arbitrary system as the debt ceiling, but the parties to the ongoing stalemate have no intention of killing it, Time magazine said Tuesday.

The New York Times warned that no matter how hard the Fed and Treasury try to contain the fallout, a default is likely to roil markets and pose huge risks.

“Timely action by Congress to raise or suspend the debt ceiling is critical,” Yellen said in a letter to congressional leadership. She warned that failure to meet government obligations would cause irreparable damage to the U.S. economy, the livelihoods of all Americans, and global financial stability.

Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat, has called for raising the debt ceiling. “If we don’t raise the debt ceiling, we’re going to default, and one default is enough to destroy the economy,” he said.

Republican Congressman Ralph Norman opposed raising the debt ceiling, saying $31.4 trillion was a huge debt. “The government owes this money because the politicians in Washington simply won’t stop spending. It’s been that way for decades, and Republicans are as much to blame as Democrats,” he said.

“We’ll have to see how the negotiations go, but the bottom line is this: Republicans need to see some level of incremental spending cuts in these debt ceiling talks. A deal without reasonable cuts is unacceptable,” Norman said.

“Our national debt is approaching a level that is not only harmful to economic growth and irresponsible for future generations, but also a threat to our national security today. We are entering dangerous waters and any debt ceiling increase must be compared with real reforms,” said Congresswoman Victoria Spaatz.

“A lot of politically directed spending and crony capitalism have created serious oligopoly problems in almost every market sector — not so different from oligarchy in post-socialist countries,” she said.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a joint statement that Congress must pass legislation to prevent a catastrophic default, honor America’s obligations and protect its full faith and credit.

“Forcible default by extreme MAGA Republicans could plunge the country into a deep recession and lead to higher costs for American working families on everything from mortgage and auto loans to credit card rates,” they said.

“America Pays Its Debt. Period. There should be no political brinkmanship on the debt ceiling. Speaker McCarthy and MAGA Republicans are reckless in trying to use America’s full trust and credibility as political leverage. A default would be disastrous for America’s working families , and lead to higher costs,” Schumer said in a separate statement.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the body of content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)