Hi John, I want to give you an update on the debt ceiling situation happening now in the House.

Yesterday, President Biden, Speaker McCarthy, and other members of congressional leadership sat down at the White House to discuss the debt limit, otherwise known as the debt ceiling, to negotiate a path forward so our government can continue to operate. 

The group has agreed to meet again on Friday; however, both sides admit that no real movement has happened since Tuesday's meeting. If we end up not coming to a solution, experts agree that it could create a cascading catastrophe in our economy.

So what does raising the debt limit mean?

Raising the so-called "debt ceiling" simply allows our government to pay the bills it has already accrued and continue to provide the essential services we all need.

Since 1960, the debt ceiling has been raised, temporarily extended, or revised 78 times, including 49 times under Republican presidents and 29 times under Democratic presidents, according to the Treasury Department. Most recently, the ceiling was raised three times under President Trump without conditions.

So why is Congress talking about this now?

In January, Treasury Secretary Yellen took some measures to keep our government operational, but those measures were only temporary. In order to continue operating, paying our bills, and providing the services we need, Congress will have to act as soon as June 1, Yellen says. Otherwise, the government would be forced to stop providing its essential services.

If no compromise is found, the U.S. government would no longer be able to take pay its bills and would essentially have to shut down services like Social Security payments and food stamps. Tens of thousands of folks would be sent home without paychecks, which would be disastrous for our working families.

So what do we do now?

Well, right now Democrats are working with Republicans to raise the ceiling. However, Republicans say they will not vote on this unless certain conditions are met, many of which Democrats feel would harm working families, like cutting funding to services for those with food insecurities.

I hope this has been a helpful explanation of what’s happening in Washington this week!

– Jahana