Biden to address nation after spending cuts

President Biden will address the nation from the Oval Office on Friday, after Congress voted to reduce spending and extend the debt ceiling for two years.

The Bipartisan Budget Agreement passed on Thursday by a final vote of 63-36 in the Senate, sending the bill to the president's desk.

Senate members from both sides voted to protect the hard-earned economic progress we have made and prevent a first-ever default by the United States, Biden said in a statement. Its companion bill in the Republican-led House, the Fiscal Responsibility Act, was passed by a final vote of 314 - 117 one day earlier.

It protects the core pillars of my Investing in America agenda that is creating good jobs across the country, fueling a resurgence in manufacturing, building our infrastructure, and advancing clean energy, along with programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. It protects my student debt relief plan for hardworking borrowers. And it honors America's sacred obligation to our veterans by fully funding veterans medical care. I look forward to signing this bill into law as soon as possible, he said. After promising not to negotiate over the debt ceiling, Biden brokered the deal with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a position he maintained even as the groups hadhed out a plan to slash the federal budget. The cuts angered both sides, with some Republicans claiming they were not severe enough, while Democrats argued they went too far.

The imminent threat of economic disaster was imminent as the government warned that it would soon run out of money to pay its bills. Biden cut short his overseas trip to return to the table in Washington as the clock wound down.

By utilizing his power to raise the government's borrowing limit unilaterally, Biden weighed using his powers to raise the borrowing limit unilaterally by invoking the 14th Amendment, a motion that would have relied on an untested legal theory but that some Democrats have urged the president to seriously consider it.