US debt dispute: According to the report, an agreement is near New corona wave in China: millions of infections per week

According to a media report, a deal appears to be on the horizon in the bitter dispute over the US debt limit. The New York Times reported on Thursday evening (local time), citing unnamed sources, that Democratic and Republican negotiators had begun drafting a bill.

However, some details are still open. According to the newspaper, the debt ceiling will be raised for two years. Expenditures for all areas except military and veterans should therefore be limited during this period.

For weeks, Democrats and Republicans have been fighting in difficult rounds of negotiations about raising the debt limit. Democratic President Joe Biden stressed in the afternoon (local time) that there was progress. Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said it wasn’t easy, but a solution was being worked on.

The Republicans want to force the Democrats to save in exchange for an increase, for example in the social sector. The Democrats, on the other hand, argue that the money will not fund new spending – it will serve to fulfill commitments already made.

In the United States, parliament decides how much money the state can borrow. According to forecasts by the Ministry of Finance, an unprecedented government default is imminent from the beginning of June. If it really came to that, it could lead to a global financial and economic crisis. In the US alone, it is feared that millions of people could lose their jobs. (sda/dpa)