On Sunday, President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy approved a deal to temporarily suspend the debt ceiling and impose spending limits to prevent a default.
The agreement suspends the $31.4T debt ceiling until January 1, 2025, allowing the government enough time to (hopefully) catch up on its bills. Though it still has to pass the US House and Senate before being finalized, here is a bit of what’s currently included in the bill:
📜 Defense spending will increase to $886B, a 3% increase from the current budget.
📜 New rules will make it easier for energy projects to gain permit approval.
📜 Unused COVID relief funds, estimated to be between $50-$70B, will be reallocated to other funding and assistance programs.
📜 A budgeting system called "PAYGO” will be instituted, requiring all new government actions affecting revenues and spending to be offset by savings (why hasn’t this always been a requirement??)
📜 No changes to Medicaid, but stricter work requirements for low-income individuals receiving food assistance.
📜 Student loan repayments and interest to begin again by late August (though the plan to forgive $430B in student debt is still under review by the Supreme Court).