WASHINGTON — The reviews are starting to come in as details emerge about the debt ceiling agreement reached by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
“This ‘deal’ is insanity,” tweeted Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C. “A $4T debt ceiling increase with virtually no cuts is not what we agreed to. Not gonna vote to bankrupt our country. The American people deserve better.” Rep. Annie Kuster, D-N.H., and chair of a center-left group known as the New Dems, which has roughly 100 members, said they are “confident” that White House negotiators delivered a “viable, bipartisan solution to end this crisis.”
“And so what do the numbers look like at the end of the day, I’m not sure. However, it is bad policy. I told the president that directly when he called me last week on Wednesday that this is saying to poor people and people who are in need that we don’t trust them,” said Jayapal, who serves as chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
The Business Roundtable, a group of more than 200 chief executive officers, called on Congress to pass the bill as soon as possible. Economists have been clear that the economy would be roiled with even a short-term breach in the nation’s ability to fully pay its bills as interest rates would rise and financial markets swoon.