US House to vote on bill to lift debt ceiling in coming weeks, says speaker

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Monday that the lower chamber will in the coming weeks vote on a bill to lift the nation's debt ceiling.

McCarthy criticized President Joe Biden for refusing to negotiate the issues surrounding extending the debt limit during his speech at the New York Stock Exchange.

"Without exaggeration, American debt is a ticking time bomb that will detonate unless we take serious, responsible action. Yet how has President Biden reacted to this issue? He has done nothing," he said.

McCarthy in late March sent a letter to the White House urging Biden to begin negotiations on the nation's debt ceiling and said he and Biden sat down two months ago to discuss a solution to the debt ceiling but argued that the president's team has been absent since and accused Biden of being "completely missing in action."

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in recent months has repeatedly urged Congress to suspend or raise the debt limit to avoid a default on government obligations.

The world's biggest economy hit its debt ceiling on Jan. 19 and Yellen said her agency has started using "extraordinary measures" to avoid default.

The US has never defaulted on its debt, while the debt ceiling has been raised 22 times between 1997 and 2022.​​​​​​​