乔·拜登总统和众议院议长凯文·麦卡锡将于周一会面直接协商如何提高联邦政府的债务上限在这个国家拖欠债务前的最后几天。
加利福尼亚州共和党人麦卡锡周日告诉记者，在总统从日本广岛举行的国际峰会返回时，他刚刚与拜登进行了一次“富有成效”的对话，“我认为，如果他明白我们在看什么，我们可以解决其中的一些问题。”
“但是你看，没有协议。我们还是分开了，”他说。
他拒绝提供根据协议债务上限将提高多长时间的细节，并表示关于任何预算上限长度的谈判正在进行中。
这些评论标志着麦卡锡和拜登周日早些时候的口水战之后的语气转变，这是过山车谈判的最新转折，旨在在该国用尽资金支付所有现有债务之前提高当前31.4万亿美元的债务上限。最快将于6月1日生效根据财政部长珍妮特·耶伦的说法。
这种违约将是史无前例的，几乎肯定会扰乱美国和国际市场，带来重大金融损失的风险。
作为提高国家借款限额的交换，众议院共和党人正在寻求削减开支和政策改变，特别是在援助项目和政府许可方面。
拜登在呼吁增税的同时也表示了一定的开放。
管理和预算办公室主任沙兰达·杨和白宫顾问史蒂夫·里奇蒂预计将于周日晚些时候前往国会山，与共和党众议员加勒特·格雷夫斯和帕特里克·麦克亨利会面，以确保拜登和麦卡锡在周一的会议前做好准备。
上周，白宫和共和党人乐观地谈论达成债务和预算协议。但周日早些时候，总统和议长都公开指责对方将党派偏见置于经济之上。
在与麦卡锡交谈之前，拜登在日本广岛对记者强调，唯一可以达成的协议是通过两党谈判。
拜登抨击共和党人在提高债务上限问题上的“极端立场”，该上限于1月份达成。
拜登说:“现在是另一方改变极端立场的时候了，因为他们提出的许多建议坦率地说是不可接受的。”。“是时候让共和党人接受这样一个事实了:没有任何两党协议可以完全按照他们的党派条款达成。他们也必须转移。”
“例如，我不会同意保护石油工业300亿美元税收减免的协议，石油工业去年的收入为2000亿美元。他们不需要另外300亿美元的激励，同时通过追求医疗补助将2100万美国人的医疗保健置于危险之中。
总统说，“坦率地说，很难确定他们(共和党人)在哪里”，但与麦卡锡直接合作可能会富有成效。
拜登最初拒绝就提高债务上限进行谈判，称立法者必须在没有先决条件的情况下提高债务上限，但后来同意在增加债务的同时进行预算谈判。
麦卡锡本周末早些时候表示，债务谈判将暂停，直到拜登从海外回来，他认为在讨价还价期间，“白宫后退了”。
拜登在日本表示:“我的猜测是，他将想要直接与我打交道。”。“我们得坐下来。我希望麦卡锡议长只是在等我回家时与我谈判，这已经——我不知道这是不是真的，我们会知道的。”
将任何立法协议转化为法律都需要几天时间，包括将法案提交国会和拜登的办公桌。然而，麦卡锡周日表示，时间表仍然是可行的妥协。
与此同时，避免违约的时间越来越紧迫，违约可能会颠覆美国和国际市场。
在周日的新闻发布会上，拜登仍然表示有信心“我们可以达成协议”，尽管几分钟后，他说，“我不能保证他们(共和党)不会做出令人发指的事情来迫使违约。”
关于违约可能性的压力周日在美国广播公司的“本周”节目中，众议院预算委员会主席乔迪·阿灵顿坚持认为共和党人已经尽了他们的责任上个月通过了一项法案提高债务上限，削减开支和扭转拜登的关键政策-这一法案很快被民主党人拒绝。
“问题是，拜登总统会听自己的秘书珍妮特·耶伦的话吗?窗口在x日关闭，默认日期，然后响应?我们已经完成了我们的工作，”阿林顿说。
他说，“我们必须调整规模，控制这种官僚主义膨胀”，同时解决“推动通胀危机和我们正在经历的一些经济灾难的支出问题”
日本总统特别指出了收入增长的僵局，认为共和党人反对他增加一些税收的提议。
他说，他“愿意削减支出，增加收入，让人们开始支付公平的份额”，但收入是谈判者继续存在“重大分歧”的地方。
2023年5月21日，众议院议长凯文·麦卡锡走在华盛顿国会山的国会大厦圆形大厅里。
帕特里克·斯曼斯基/美联社
麦卡锡周日予以回击，坚称拜登此前承认增税不会成为任何债务上限协议的一部分。
“但是在党内更进步的社会主义者站出来说他们想花更多的钱之后，总统真的转变了立场。他现在带来了一些大家都说不在台面上的东西。看起来他更想违约，而不是交易，”麦卡锡在福克斯商业频道上说。
拜登周日评论了单边行动的可能性，他说他曾考虑援引第14修正案，其中规定公共债务“不应受到质疑。”然而，他表示，依靠修正案来绕过债务上限可能会引起法庭质疑和随后的上诉，这种拖延无论如何都会将国家推向违约。
“我认为我们有权力，”拜登说。“问题是，它能不能被及时执行和援引，从而不会被上诉，因此，过了有问题的日期，仍然拖欠债务?我认为这是一个尚未解决的问题。”
在拜登前往广岛会见G7和盟国领导人期间，债务上限辩论已经结束，成为头条新闻，尽管总统正在努力解决以下问题向乌克兰派遣F-16战斗机以及与中国的关系。
美国和其他国家打破了长期以来不向乌克兰派遣飞机的誓言，本周末宣布将开始培训乌克兰飞行员，并最终向基辅派遣一些飞机。西方国家此前一直对这种举动保持警惕，担心激怒俄罗斯，并可能扩大乌克兰的冲突。
“我从泽伦斯基那里得到了明确的保证，他们不会，他们不会，利用它继续前进，进入俄罗斯的地理领土。但无论俄罗斯军队在乌克兰境内的什么地方，他们都能够做到，”拜登周日表示，他指的是乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽伦斯基(Volodymyr Zelenskyy)。
关于中国，他补充说，他预计华盛顿和北京之间的关系将在美国击落情报机构所说的几个月后“很快解冻”是一个中国间谍气球拜登周日称这一事件为“愚蠢”。
Biden and McCarthy to meet on Monday to negotiate directly on debt ceiling
President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will meet on Mondayto directly negotiate on how to raise the federal government's debt ceilingin the final days before the country defaults on its bills.
McCarthy, R-Calif., told reporters on Sunday that a conversation he'd just had with Biden as the president flew back from an international summit in Hiroshima, Japan, was "productive" and that "I think we can solve some of these problems if he understands what we're looking at."
"But look, there's no agreement. We're still apart," he said.
He declined to provide specifics on how long the debt limit would be raised under a deal and said negotiations are ongoing about the length of any budget caps.
Those comments mark a tone shift after an earlier war of words between McCarthy and Biden on Sunday -- the latest twist in the roller coaster negotiations to raise the current $31.4 trillion debt limit before the country runs out of funds to pay all of its existing obligations,which will happen as soon as June 1, according to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
Such a default would be unprecedented and almost certainly roil the U.S. and international markets, risking major financial damage.
In exchange for hiking the nation's borrowing limit, House Republicans are seeking spending cuts and policy changes, particularly around aid programs and government permits.
Biden has signaled some openness while also calling for tax increases.
Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young and White House adviser Steve Richetti are expected to come to Capitol Hill later Sunday to meet with Republican Reps. Garret Graves and Patrick McHenry to ensure Biden and McCarthy are prepared in advance of Monday's meeting.
Last week, the White House and Republicans spoke optimistically about reaching a debt and budget deal. But both the president and speaker earlier Sunday publicly rebuked the other forplacing partisanship over the economy.
Talking with reporters in Hiroshima, Japan, before he spoke with McCarthy, Biden emphasized that the only deal to be made was through bipartisan negotiations.
Biden hammered Republicans over what he called their "extreme positions" on raising the debt ceiling, which was reached in January.
"It's time for the other side to move from their extreme positions because much of what they've proposed is quite frankly unacceptable," Biden said. "It's time for Republicans to accept that there is no bipartisan deal to be made solely on their partisan terms. They have to move as well."
"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 health care of 21 million Americans at risk by going after Medicaid," he said.
The president said that it has been "hard to determine where they [Republicans] are, quite frankly" but that working with McCarthy directly could be fruitful.
Biden initially resisted negotiating on raising the debt limit -- saying lawmakers must hike it without preconditions -- but has since agreed to budget talks alongside a debt increase.
McCarthy said earlier this weekend that the debt talks would be paused until after Biden returned from overseas, contending that "the White House moved backwards" during bargaining.
"My guess is he's going to want to deal directly with me," Biden said in Japan. "We're going to have to sit down. I'm hoping that Speaker McCarthy is just waiting to negotiate with me when I get home, which has been -- I don't know whether that's true or not, we'll find out."
It will take several days to turn any legislative deal into law, including moving the bill through Congress and to Biden's desk. However, McCarthy indicated on Sunday that the timeline remains workable for a compromise.
Meanwhile, the clock is ticking down to avoid a default, which would likely upend both U.S. and international markets.
During his press conference Sunday, Biden still expressed confidence that "we can reach an agreement," although minutes later, he said, "I can't guarantee that they [GOP] wouldn't force a default by doing something outrageous."
Pressed about the possibility of defaultwhile appearing Sunday on ABC's "This Week,"House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington insisted that Republicans had done their partby passing a bill last monthto raise the debt ceiling, cut spending and reverse key Biden policies -- a bill that was quickly rejected by Democrats.
"The question is, will President Biden listen to Janet Yellen, his own secretary? And with the window closing on the x-date, the default date, then respond? We've done our job," Arrington said.
"We've got to rightsize and rein in this bureaucratic bloat" while addressing the "spending problem that's driving the inflation crisis and some of the economic woes that we're experiencing," he said
The president in Japan singled out an impasse over revenue growth, arguing that Republicans are opposed to his proposals to raise some taxes.
He said he is "willing to cut spending, as well as raise revenue, so people start paying their fair share," but that revenues are where negotiators continue to have "significant disagreement."
McCarthy shot back Sunday, insisting that Biden previously acknowledged raising taxes would not be part of any agreement on the debt limit.
"But the president has really shifted right after the more progressive socialist wing of the party stood up and says they want to spend more money. He's now bringing something to the table that everyone said was off the table. It seems as though he wants to default more than he wants to deal," McCarthy said on Fox Business.
Biden commented Sunday on the possibility of unilateral action, sayinghe had considered invoking the 14th Amendment, which states that the public debt "shall not be questioned." However, he said that leaning on the amendment to get around the debt ceiling would likely cause a court challenge and a subsequent appeal, a delay that would push the country toward default anyway.
"I think we have the authority," Biden said. "Question is, could it be done and invoked in time that it would not be appealed and, as a consequence, past the date in question, and still default on debt? That's a question that I think is unresolved."
The debt ceiling debate has played out during Biden's trip to Hiroshima to meet with leaders from the G7 and allied countries, making headlines even while the president grapples with issues likesending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraineand relations with China.
The U.S. and other nations broke longstanding vows to not send the planes to Ukraine when they announced this weekend they would start training Ukrainian pilots on the jets and ultimately send some to Kyiv. Western countries had previously been wary of such a move over fears of antagonizing Russia and potentially broadening the conflict in Ukraine.
"I have a flat assurance from Zelenskyy that they will not, they will not, use it to go on and move into Russian geographic territory. But wherever Russian troops are within Ukraine in the area, they would be able to do that," Biden said Sunday, referencing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
On China, he added that he expected relations between Washington and Beijing to "thaw very shortly" months after the U.S. shot down what intelligence agencies have saidwas a Chinese spy balloon, an incident Biden called "silly" on Sunday.
