“We are ready to discuss with the Republicans the reduction of the budget deficit”

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Saturday she was ready to negotiate with congressional Republicans on the Joe Biden administration’s budget proposal, which will be released next month, but not on the terms of the budget. an increase in the debt ceiling.Yellen noted that the Biden administration’s fiscal year 2024 budget will include “significant deficit reduction over the next decade.””And we are going to show how we are going to get there, she added on the sidelines of the G20 financial leaders meeting. This cannot be the main or even a precondition for raising the debt ceiling.”Republicans, who have a slim majority in the US House of Representatives, have demanded that President Joe Biden agree to cut spending in exchange for a higher debt ceiling.Yellen pointed out that the United States “cannot negotiate whether the bills will be paid or not. It’s just a basic responsibility of government.”The US Treasury secretary explained that tax returns filed around the April 15 filing deadline could allow for some adjustments to be made to the department’s estimate of when it will no longer be able to pay all the bills government without increasing the debt ceiling, which is now $31.4 trillion.The Treasury has yet to change its preliminary estimate for that period through June, made last month, although the Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the Treasury’s cash borrowing and emergency measures could last. until September.”The tax returns will determine information about a possible ‘X date,'” the minister said, referring to the term commonly used in Washington for a potential default date.”We felt comfortable and told Congress that we could at least get there in early June,” Janet Yellen said in conclusion.