经过几个月的来回，众议院共和党人和白宫本周末公布了一项交易提高国家31.4万亿美元的借款限额对政府开支实施一些限制和其他政策变化。
该法案于周日公开发布，将需要国会在几天内批准，以避免历史性的违约这最早可能在6月5日开始财政部长珍妮特·耶伦说过。
否则，美国将无法支付所有的播种费用前所未有的经济动荡，包括失业和股票市场的重大打击。
美国总统乔·拜登誓言，如果债务协议在众议院和参议院获得通过，他将签署该协议。众议院投票定于周三举行。
以下是关于债务和支出法案的要点和问题。
债务上限法案有什么内容?
该协议是一项为期两年的预算协议，该协议还将单独提高两年的债务上限，同时保持非国防支出在2024财年与当前水平大致持平，并在2025年增加1%。新达成的协议将在2025年1月1日之前暂停债务上限——消除几年内的违约威胁。
新的债务上限协议没有改变医疗补助计划，并为退伍军人的医疗保健提供全额资金。然而，根据来自白宫的消息，有新的SNAP资格要求，例如对某些54岁以上的美国人设置时间限制。
在谈到该协议时，一名白宫官员表示，拜登总统和他的团队希望确保没有人在协议中失去任何医疗保健，并且贫困不会因此而增加。当被问及对该协议净赤字削减的估计时，一名白宫官员表示，可自由支配的节省“可能”在1万亿美元范围内，但必须等待CBO分数。
什么时候必须通过?
很快:尽管财政部长警告说，对所谓的违约“X日”的估计可能会有所不同，但她最近预测最后期限是6月5日，“根据最近的可用数据”
议长凯文·麦卡锡表示，众议院将于周三对该法案进行投票。多数党领袖查克·舒默在一封信中告诉民主党人，参议院将于周二返回华盛顿，然后在周三晚上开始处理立法。
但是根据商会的规则，只需要一个立法者就可以将批准时间推迟到X日之后一周。犹他州共和党参议员李政颖威胁说，除非他觉得该协议有“实质性的支出和预算改革”
舒默在给民主党人的信中似乎提到了这些障碍:“由于在没有合作的情况下，在参议院处理立法可能需要时间，参议员应该为潜在的周五和周末投票做好准备。”
众议院议长凯文·麦卡锡和他在债务上限问题上的最高谈判代表，众议员加勒特·格雷夫斯(左)以及众议院金融服务委员会主席，众议员帕特里克·麦克亨利一起对共和党议员说...显示更多undefined
J.斯科特·阿普尔怀特/美联社
债务上限法案会通过吗?
麦卡锡和总统乔·拜登认为是这样的，麦卡锡周日预测，他的大多数国会议员和一些民主党人将共同批准这项立法。
他承认，该法案“没有得到所有人想要的一切，但在分裂的政府中，这就是我们最终得到的。”
“这是一个好的，强有力的法案，大多数共和党人都会投票支持，”他告诉ABC新闻的Trish Turner。
麦卡锡说，有了拜登的支持，“我希望他的政党也会支持我”。
众议院少数党领袖哈基姆·杰弗里斯(Hakeem Jeffries)在哥伦比亚广播公司(CBS)的“面对全国”节目中证实，民主党人可能会投票支持该法案。但他没有提供具体的估计数字。
“我确实希望并期待看到相当多的众议院共和党人人投票赞成这项协议。我的理解是，他们致力于产生至少150张选票，如果不是更多的话，”杰弗里斯说。“他们是与白宫谈判这项协议的人。我预计他们将提供大量的选票，让它越过终点线。”
南达科他州的共和党众议员达斯丁·约翰逊周日表示，他们能够从双方获得的选票越多，国家就越好。
他在美国有线电视新闻网(CNN)的《国情咨文》(State of the Union)节目中表示:“我认为，我们获得218张(选票)肯定是合理的，尽管我认为，如果我们能在董事会中增加一个很大的数字，对这个国家来说会好得多。”“像乔·拜登这样的民主党人和众议院的一些人与共和党人一起通过这项法案。”
知情人士告诉ABC新闻，自周六晚上首次宣布该协议以来，两党议员的外联和鞭策工作一直在进行。
在周六的一份声明中，拜登说，“我强烈敦促两院立即通过这项协议。”
周日回到白宫，美国广播公司新闻的伊丽莎白·舒尔茨问拜登:“你有信心这项协议会送到你的办公桌上吗?”
“是的，”他说。
政治反应
拜登和麦卡锡强调，他们的协议是一种妥协，反映了华盛顿目前的两党现实，但一些自由派和强硬派保守派都对此感到沮丧——在整个谈判过程中，他们敦促各自的领导人不要放弃太多。
“这个‘交易’是精神错乱。...不会投票让我们的国家破产。美国人民应该得到更好的，”R-S.C .众议员拉尔夫·诺曼是众议院自由核心小组的成员，发微博。
德克萨斯州共和党众议员奇普·罗伊是众议院自由核心小组的另一名成员，他更加直言不讳，(小鸟)鸣叫该法案是一个“狗屎三明治”
众议员约翰逊在“国情咨文”中表示，尽管受到批评，但他认为至少有一些“众议院自由人”会投票支持一项“了不起的协议”。
他对别人的抵制不屑一顾。
“说实话，鲍勃·古德不会为这件事投票。即使特蕾莎修女死而复生给他打电话也没关系，他不会投赞成票的。他永远也不会，”约翰逊说。
在过道的另一边，进步党团主席、来自华盛顿的民主党众议员普拉米拉·贾亚帕尔(Pramila Jayapal)拒绝透露她是否会支持这项立法，并表示国会领导人应该“担心”从像她这样的进步人士那里获得足够的支持。
特别是，更多的左翼民主党人批评拜登在违约威胁下进行谈判，同时同意联邦援助的一些工作要求。
违约的风险是什么?
经济学家警告说，美国无法履行财政义务将使数百万人面临失业风险，增加失业率，并导致日常用品价格上涨。
违约还可能导致社会保障、医疗保险和医疗补助支付——以及军饷和退伍军人福利——无法支付或被推迟。
随着谈判进入最后阶段，依赖这些支票的美国人表达了越来越多的担忧和焦虑，他们担心如果违约，他们是否有能力支付租金、购买杂货和其他日常开支。
明尼阿波利斯的空军老兵雅各布·托马斯告诉ABC新闻的伊丽莎白·舒尔茨，违约的不确定性已经影响到美国军人家庭。
“即使达成了协议，下周一切都会好起来，这仍然意味着现在，全国各地的家庭和退伍军人都必须考虑，'对我来说，必须定量分配我目前的工资或我目前的残疾工资意味着什么?'”托马斯说。
纽约86岁的弗雷德·格纳告诉美国广播公司，他用自己的社会保障金支付800美元的房租。
“压力很大，让我心脏病发作，”格纳谈到这个问题是如何变得政治化的。
住在弗吉尼亚州农村的64岁的苏珊·普拉赫尔·米查姆说，如果不能及时达成提高债务上限的协议，她将“失去一切”。
“我们是人，”她说，“我们已经尽了最大努力。”
Key questions and takeaways from the debt ceiling deal
After months of back and forth, House Republicans and the White Housethis weekend unveiled a dealon raising the nation's $31.4 trillion borrowing limit whileimplementing some caps on government spendingand other policy changes.
The legislation, which was released publicly on Sunday, will need to be approved by Congress within days to avert a historic defaultthat could begin as soon as June 5, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said.
Otherwise the U.S. will be unable to pay all of its bills -- sowingunprecedented economic turmoil, including lost jobs and major hits to stock markets.
President Joe Biden has vowed to sign the debt deal if it passes the House and Senate. A House vote is slated for Wednesday.
Below are key takeaways and questions about the debt and spending bill.
What's in the debt ceiling bill?
The agreement is a two-year budget deal that would also separately raise the debt limit for two years while keeping non-defense spending roughly flat with current levels in fiscal year 2024 and increasing by 1% in 2025. The newly reached agreement would suspend the debt limit through January 1, 2025 – taking away the threat of default for a few years.
The new debt ceiling deal has no changes to Medicaid and fully funds medical care for veterans. However, there are new SNAP eligibility requirements, such as placing time limits on certain Americans over the age of 54, according to sources from the White House.
Speaking about the agreement, a White House official said that President Biden and his team wanted to ensure that no one lost any health care in the agreement and that poverty would not increase as a result. When asked for an estimate on the net deficit reduction from the agreement, a White House official said discretionary savings are “likely” to be in the $1 trillion range, but would have to wait on the CBO score.
When does it have to pass?
Soon: While the treasury secretary has cautioned that estimates of the so-called "X-date" for default can vary, she most recently predicted the deadline to be June 5, "based on the most recent available data."
Speaker Kevin McCarthy has said the House would vote on the bill on Wednesday. The Senate, which returns to Washington on Tuesday, would then begin processing the legislation on Wednesday night, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told Democrats in a letter.
But under the chamber's rules, it would only take one lawmaker to possibly delay approval for up to a week -- past the X-date. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, has threatened just that unless he feels the deal has "substantial spending and budgetary reforms."
Schumer appeared to reference such obstacles in his letter to Democrats: "Due to the time it may take to process the legislation in the Senate without cooperation, Senators should prepare for potential Friday and weekend votes."
Will the debt ceiling bill pass?
McCarthy and President Joe Biden think so, with McCarthy predicting on Sunday that both a majority of his conference and some Democrats would come together to approve the legislation.
The bill "doesn't get everything everybody wanted," he acknowledged, "but that's, in divided government, that's what we end up with."
"This is a good, strong bill that a majority of Republicans will vote for," he told ABC News' Trish Turner.
And with Biden's backing, "I expect his party to be supportive as well," McCarthy said.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries confirmed during an appearance on CBS' "Face the Nation" that Democrats will likely vote for the bill. But he didn't offer specific estimates.
"I do hope and expect to see a significant number of House Republicans voting for this agreement. It's my understanding that they are committed to producing at least 150 votes, if not more," Jeffries said. "They were the ones who negotiated this agreement with the White House. And I expect that they will provide a significant number of votes to get it over the finish line."
Republican Rep. Dusty Johnson of South Dakota said on Sunday that the more votes they are able to whip -- from both sides -- the better it looks for the nation.
"I think it is certainly plausible that we could get 218 [votes], although I think it's going to look a lot better for this country if we can put a big number up on the board," he said on CNN's "State of the Union." "Democrats like Joe Biden and some in the House coming together with Republicans to pass this."
Outreach and whipping efforts for lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have been underway since the deal was first announced Saturday night, sources familiar have told ABC News.
In a statement on Saturday, Biden said, "I strongly urge both chambers to pass the agreement right away."
Returning to the White House on Sunday, Biden was asked by ABC News' Elizabeth Schulze: "Are you confident this deal will get to your desk?"
"Yes," he said.
Political reactions
Biden and McCarthy stressed their deal as a compromise reflecting the bipartisan reality of Washington right now, but both some liberals and hard-line conservatives reacted with dismay -- having urged their respective leaders, throughout negotiations, not to cede too much.
"This 'deal' is insanity. ... Not gonna vote to bankrupt our country. The American people deserve better," Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C. and a member of the House Freedom Caucus,tweeted.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas and another member of the House Freedom Caucus, was more blunt,tweetingthat the bill was a "turd-sandwich."
Rep. Johnson said on "State of the Union" that despite the criticism, he thinks at least some of those "House Freedom people" will vote for a "fantastic deal."
He shrugged off resistance from others.
"Let's be honest, [Rep.] Bob Good will not vote for this thing. And it doesn't matter if Mother Teresa came back from the dead and called him, he's not voting for it. He was never going to," Johnson said.
Across the aisle, Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, the Progressive Caucus chair, declined to say if she would support the legislation either -- and that congressional leaders should "worry" about garnering enough support from progressives like her.
In particular, more left-wing Democrats have criticized Biden for negotiating under the threat of default while agreeing to some work requirements on federal aid.
What are the risks of default?
Economists have warned the U.S. being unable to fulfill financial obligations would put millions of jobs at risk, increase unemployment levels and lead to higher prices for everyday items.
A default could also result in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid payments -- as well as military pay and veterans benefits -- going unpaid or being delayed.
As the negotiations came down to the wire, Americans who depend on those checks expressed growing concern and anxiety surrounding their ability to pay rent, buy groceries and other daily expenses if default were to occur.
Air Force veteran Jacob Thomas in Minneapolis told ABC News' Elizabeth Schulze the uncertainty over default was already hitting American military families.
"Even if a deal is reached, everything winds up being OK next week, that still means that right now, families and veterans across the country are having to think about, 'What does it mean for me to have to ration my current paycheck or my current disability paycheck?'" Thomas said.
Fred Gurner, 86, of New York, told ABC News that he uses his Social Security payment for his $800 rent.
"It's very stressful, gives me a heart attack," Gurner said about how the issue has become politicized.
And Susan Prahl Meachum, a 64 year old living in rural Virginia, said she will "lose everything" if there is no deal to raise the debt limit in time.
"We're human beings," she said, "and we're doing the best we can with what we've got."
