Democrats and Republicans were back at the bargaining table in Washington D.C. as the United States government is on its way to a default as soon as next month if the debt ceiling isn’t raised.
The United States Treasury Department has said a default could come as soon as June 1, so time matters.
Talks shut down Friday (May 19) because both sides were at an impasse over how deeply to cut the government budget.
“We’ve got to get movement by the White House, and we don’t have any movement,” said House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
“There are differences between us in terms of where we think we should be, but let’s also understand that these negotiations are difficult,” said Vice President Kamala Harris.
Republicans want to roll back spending to 2022 levels, but Democrats argue that would require cuts of up to 30% for some government programs.
- Impasse over cuts
- Capping spending 2022
- Revoking COVID money
- Energy permitting
- Work requirement
In addition to capital spending, negotiations are looking at revoking unused COVID-19 aid, overhauling the energy permitting process, and changing up work requirements for some benefit programs.