Biden to speak Monday on need to raise debt ceiling

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Joe Biden is set to deliver remarks Monday morning on the need for Congress to raise the nation’s debt ceiling.

The White House says Biden will begin speaking at about 11:15 a.m. ET.

“The president will deliver remarks on the need for Congress to fulfill its shared responsibility and address the debt ceiling, after Senate Republicans voted twice last week to default and continue to block Democratic efforts to avoid default,” said the Biden administration.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned that if Congress doesn’t raise the debt ceiling by Oct. 18, the U.S. could default on its financial obligations for the first time in history.

“At that point, we expect Treasury would be left with very limited resources that would be depleted quickly. It is uncertain whether we could continue to meet all the nation’s commitments after that date,” wrote Yellen in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last week.

The secretary added that the Oct. 18 deadline is the department’s best estimate and the federal government’s cash flows are subject to variability, meaning the money could last longer or shorter.

Yellen warned that waiting until the last minute to address the debt ceiling can cause harm to business and consumer confidence, raise borrowing costs for taxpayers, and negatively impact the credit rating of the U.S. for years to come.

Democrats had originally wanted to raise the debt ceiling in the same bill that extended government funding, but that move was blocked by Senate Republicans. Instead, a standalone government funding bill was passed and signed into law last week.

Both parties have voted to raise the debt limit in the past, with Democrats joining the Republican Senate majority in doing so three times during Donald Trump’s presidency, The Associated Press reports.

Now, however, the GOP has argued that Democrats have chosen to push through their political priorities on their own and thus are responsible for raising the debt limit on their own, reports the AP.