Biden: 'Republicans' proposal on US debt unacceptable'

(ANSA) - WASHINGTON / HIROSHIMA, MAY 21 - The Republicans' proposal for the green light to raise the debt is "unacceptable". This was stated by US President Joe Biden at the press conference held after the end of the G7 in Hiroshima, adding that negotiations "are moving forward" on the assumption that "default is not an option. The U.S. has never had a default and never will." The president added that he is also "watching" the use of constitutional powers to avoid default in the event of a stalemate with Republicans on the debt.
Meanwhile, the White House accuses Republicans: "The House Speaker team has put on the table an offer that represents a big step backwards and contains a series of extreme partisan demands that could never pass in both Houses," a statement said. "It's just a Republican leadership indebted to its Maga wing — not the president or the Dem leadership — threatening to default for the first time in history unless extreme partisan demands are met," it reads. Last Tuesday, recalls the note signed by spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre, "the president appointed a team to negotiate with the speaker's team. The president and speaker agreed that any budget deal must be bipartisan." Biden has repeatedly put deficit reduction proposals on the table, from spending caps to Big Pharma profit cuts to closing tax loopholes for oil and gas. Let's face it: the president's team is ready to meet at any time. And we're serious about what can pass in a bipartisan way, get to the president's desk and reduce the deficit."
(ANSA).