U.S. President Joe Biden said on Monday that it’s important for Congress to approve raising the country’s debt ceiling because the country must meet its spending obligations that have been pre-approved by past administrations. He added that it’s not about spending more, but rather paying back what is already owed.

He also blamed the previous Trump administration for “reckless tax and spending policies” for the need to raise the country’s debt limit. He added that Republicans now won't support raising the limit, but claimed Democrats had always agreed to when Donald Trump was in office.

The House passed a bill last Wednesday to suspend the debt ceiling as the country heads towards its first-ever default, but with Republicans refusing to support the measure, Democrats would have to look to use reconciliation to pass the bill with votes only from their side of the aisle.

Should Congress be unable to suspend or raise the debt limit before the deadline of Oct. 18, lawmakers risk a default could cost millions of jobs and impact the financial markets.

Biden also signed legislation on Thursday evening to avoid a partial federal shutdown and keep the government funded through Dec. 3. Congress had passed the bill earlier Thursday.

The House approved the short-term funding measure by a 254-175 vote not long after Senate passage in a 65-35 vote. A large majority of Republicans in both chambers voted against it.

The legislation was needed to keep the government running once the current budget year ended at midnight Thursday.

For more info, please go to https://globalnews.ca/news/8232975/u-s-congress-raise-debt-ceiling-avoiding-government-shutdown/

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