The United States President, Joe Biden has said raising the US borrowing limit averted economic collapse. In his first Oval Office address to the nation yesterday, he pledged to sign the Bill into law after it cruised through Congress with bipartisan support. The bill passed 63-36 in the Senate on Thursday night, a day after it easily cleared the House of Representatives.
President Biden said a US default on its 31.4 trillion dollor debt on Monday’s deadline would have been catastrophic.
For weeks the White House and Republicans debated details of a deal, and there was scepticism about whether the package would actually be finalised before the US government ran out of money on the 5th of June. The deal suspends the debt limit until the 1st of January, 2025 and caps non-defence spending, while expanding work requirements for food and healthcare assistance, amongst other provisions.
Speeches to the nation from the Oval Office are typically reserved for major crises, such as war or natural disasters.