President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have reached an agreement to raise the United States’ debt ceiling.

The agreement, which was disclosed Saturday night, increases the debt ceiling by two years. According to The Hill, the limit did not have a fixed dollar amount and was effectively delayed for two years, until after the presidential election of 2024.

The current debt limit would have been reached on June 5, and the Biden administration predicted that failure to reach an agreement would have resulted in dire fiscal consequences.

Congress must still approve the agreement.

According to The New York Times, Biden stated after the agreement was reached, “It is an important step forward that reduces spending while protecting critical programs for working people and growing the economy for everyone.”

“And the agreement protects my and congressional Democrats’ key priorities and legislative accomplishments. The agreement represents a compromise, which means not everyone gets what they want,” he said.

McCarthy stated that the agreement included “historic reductions in spending, consequential reforms that will lift people out of poverty into the workforce, rein in government overreach.”

He added that the task was not complete.

“We still have more work to do tonight to finish all the writing of it,” he said.

Salon reports that Lindsay Owens, executive director of the progressive Groundwork Collaborative, condemned the agreement.

“After inflation eats its share, flat funding will result in fewer households accessing rental assistance, fewer kids in Head Start, and fewer services for seniors. The deal represents the worst of conservative budget ideology; it cuts investments in workers and families, adds onerous and wasteful new hurdles for families in need of support, and protects the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations from paying their fair share in taxes,”  Owens stated.

More on this story via The Western Journal:

The Hill report, citing a Republican Party fact sheet, said discretionary non-defense spending would be rolled back to 2022 levels. For reference, this is the 2023 federal fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. The fact sheet said overall non-defense discretionary spending could only grow 1 percent annually for the next six years. CONTINUE READING…