President Biden claimed that the United States avoided disaster and the risk of economic collapse because Democrats and Republicans accepted a compromise on public debt.
"The only way American democracy can function properly is through compromise and consensus," US President Joe Biden said on June 2, in his first recorded address in the Oval Office of the White House to the American people.
He emphasized that neither the Democrats nor the Republicans got everything they wanted in the debt ceiling agreement. However, by accepting compromises, the parties help America "avoid disaster and economic collapse". He said that if the debt ceiling negotiation between the two sides fails, the US will face many serious consequences.
US President Joe Biden during a speech recorded in the Oval Office of the White House on June 2. Screenshots
Mr. Biden said he would sign the Financial Responsibility Bill into law, concretizing the debt ceiling agreement, today, ending months of wrangling between Democrats and Republicans.
President Biden also emphasized the personal role in pushing for a bipartisan compromise. He reiterated that, from running for the 2020 election to the present, his message has been that bipartisan consensus is still possible and that Democrats and Republicans can work together.
Earlier, many Democrats had urged Mr. Biden to activate the 14th Amendment to the constitution to bypass congressional power and help the US avoid default. However, President Biden refused to do that and persisted in negotiating with Republicans to reach an agreement.
This is the first time in Biden's tenure that he has recorded a message to the people from his desk in the Oval Office. The White House said Mr. Biden decided to use this format for his June 2 speech because the debt ceiling agreement means so much to the United States.
U.S. presidents often reserve the form of Oval Office speeches for events important to the history of their country and their own tenure. President Ronald Reagan did the same when announcing to the public the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger in 1986. President George W. Bush spoke from the Oval Office after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 9. President Barack Obama delivered a speech in the same format after the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2001.
The Financial Responsibility Bill was passed in the US Senate on the evening of June 1 with 6 votes in favor, just a day after it was passed in the House of Representatives.
The Congressional Budget Office said on Thursday the deal would save $30 trillion over a decade, well below the $5 trillion Republicans targeted in a bill they passed in the House in April but opposed by the White House and Senate.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Biden reached a preliminary agreement on the public debt ceiling late on May 27, after weeks of negotiations. The agreement includes suspending the debt ceiling for two years, limiting spending during that time, recovering unused funds from the Covid-5 support fund, speeding up the licensing of some energy projects and increasing conditions with welfare programs for the poor.
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