WASHINGTON DC (TASS): The United States authorities are currently investigating the publication by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism (ICIJ) information on the offshore accounts of some of the world’s politicians and other famous people called the Pandora Papers. This was stated by US President Joe Biden, speaking on Monday at the White House with a speech on the situation with the US national debt ceiling.
He was asked about the reaction of the United Stat-es to this publication and whether he plans to take an-y action in this regard. “We are studying this now,” the American leader replied.
Biden said that the potential default that could occur if the country’s Congress does not agree to raise the public debt ceiling would jeopardize the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency.
“Failure to raise the public debt ceiling will call into question the willingness of Congress to fulfill our obligations, which we have already assumed [on ourselves], and not new ones. This will undermine the reliability of Treasury securities, and will also threaten the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency,” the American leader said. …
“America’s credit rating will be downgraded, loan rates will rise,” Biden added, urging his Republican political opponents to stop opposing Congress’s raising the national debt ceiling. “The Republicans not only refuse to do their job, but they also threaten to use their powers to prevent us from doing our job – to keep the economy from catastrophic event. <…> We simply ask them not to use procedural loopholes to prevent us from doing our work. which they will not carry out. <…> You do not want to help save the country, then get out of the way so as not to destroy it, “the US President added.
“They should stop playing Russian roulette with the US economy,” the American leader said.
Biden said he could not guarantee that the US would not default on its debt obligations. The American leader stressed that the solution to this problem will depend on the actions of the Republicans in Congress. He was asked whether a situation is possible in which the United States will not be able to pay off its debt obligations, since the US Congress will not suspend the national debt limit. “I cannot believe that the final outcome will be exactly like this, because the consequences of this will be so grim. I don’t believe in it. But can I guarantee it (that there will be no default – TASS note)? If I could I would, but I can’t, “Biden replied.
Last week, the House of Representatives of Congress approved the suspension of the government debt limit until December 16, 2022. Now the bill will have to be considered by the Senate. The American media predict with a high degree of probability that it will not take place there due to the opposition of the Republicans.
Earlier, another bill – on the suspension of the national debt limit until the end of 2022 and temporary financing of the federal government until December 3 of this year – was approved by the House of Representatives, but then did not pass a procedural vote in the Senate due to obstacles from the Republicans. Then the Democrats made a new attempt to suspend the national debt limit, dividing these two initiatives: they again put the issue of public debt to a vote in the House of Representatives, but without being tied to the temporary funding of the federal government.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen previously announced in a letter to US lawmakers that the resources of her department will be completely depleted shortly after October 18, unless Congress raises the government debt ceiling by that date or suspends the borrowing limit to avoid default. She called on lawmakers to take action “as soon as possible.”
Prior to this, Yellen had repeatedly warned Congress about the threat of default and noted that if the government’s debt ceiling was not increased by October 1, when the US fiscal year begins, the government’s ability to pay off its obligations could be seriously undermined.
Republicans in Congress have pledged to take all possible measures to block the initiative. They insist that Biden and the Democrats cut spending or take other measures to reduce the national debt.
The specified ceiling does not allow the US Treasury Department to issue new government bonds to finance government activities after reaching a certain level of government debt or a certain date. This level reached $ 22 trillion in August 2019, and its growth was suspended until the end of July 2021. Since the legislators did not manage to raise it, since August 1, the level of indebtedness has reached the legislatively established maximum value.
