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Trump says White House, Congress reach 2-year budget deal
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IANS | 23 Jul, 2019
US President Donald Trump has said his administration and Congressional
leaders reached a bipartisan budget deal for the next two years that
will also raise the US borrowing limit to avoid potential default.
"I
am pleased to announce that a deal has been struck with Senate Majority
Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Speaker
of the House Nancy Pelosi, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy - on
a two-year Budget and Debt Ceiling," the President said on Monday on
Twitter, Xinhua news agency reported.
Trump, however, did not say whether he will sign the deal into law if it is passed in both chambers of Congress.
Earlier
in the day, while hosting Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in the
Oval Office, Trump told reporters that "very good talks" on the issue
were ongoing between administration officials and congressional leaders
of both parties in both chambers of Congress.
"We're
doing very well if you look at debt limit, however you want to define
that," the president said. "And I think we're doing very well on the
budget."
Citing people familiar with the talks, the US
media reported on Monday that the agreement would raise overall
spending levels by $320 billion for the next two years, compared to a
limit set in a 2011 law.
The deal also will suspend
the federal debt ceiling until July 31, 2021. The current debt ceiling
expired on March 1, when the debt ballooned to over $22 trillion. The
Treasury Department has taken a series of "extraordinary measures" to
prevent the nation from defaulting on its payment obligations.
Packing
the debt ceiling increase with an overall spending deal has been the
request of House Democrats. Monday's deal also includes about $75
billion in offsets for equal increases in military and non-military
spending.
While the Democrats succeeded in
significantly lowering the offsets from the White House's original offer
of $150 billion, Pelosi, a California Democrat, still faces liberals in
her own caucus who oppose upping the defence spending. Trump said it
was "very important" to take care of the US military.
In
addition, the agreement will permanently end what is known as the
"sequester," automatic across-the-board spending cuts required in the
Budget Control Act of 2011. The sequester intends to cut spending for
federal agencies totalling $1.2 trillion during the decade ending 2021,
when the law is set to expire.
The legislative and
executive branches must come up with short-term budget deals in order
not to trigger the sequester, which did take effect in 2013 and has been
avoided several times since. The current agreement, if reached, would
avoid the return of the sequester in January.
A House
vote is expected before Friday, when the chamber leaves for the August
recess. The Senate's recess is scheduled to start on August 2.
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Customs Exchange Rates |
Currency |
Import |
Export |
US Dollar
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66.20
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64.50 |
UK Pound
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87.50
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84.65 |
Euro
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78.25
|
75.65 |
Japanese
Yen |
58.85 |
56.85 |
As on 13 Aug, 2022 |
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Daily Poll |
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