You have other Republicans saying default wouldn't be too bad. But this time it seems more elusive because you've got Republicans, like Donald Trump, saying Congress should default. And it's a self-inflicted wound.Īnd, you know, in the past, they - the two parties have always found a face-saving offramp. default would not only hurt the United States economy, but it could trigger inflation and unemployment and a recession around the world. America looks dysfunctional just at a time it's trying to rally its allies to counter China. But in this case, the debt-ceiling standoff in Washington has affected his agenda abroad. This isn't the first time a domestic problem has followed a president abroad or forced him to cut short a trip. So how are they reacting to the possibility of the U.S. I mean, these are big economic partners for the U.S. RASCOE: So Biden made these comments while in Japan after meeting with all these foreign leaders. And remember, if you take Social Security, Medicare and defense off the table, that means if you're going to do deficit reduction, you have to cut everything else much more deeply. But spending caps, how deep the cuts should be, how long the caps should last - that's the biggest spending - the biggest sticking point right now. There were some other areas where both sides could see a compromise, like permitting reform, which would make both green energy projects and oil and gas projects happen faster, or clawing back unspent COVID funds, which both sides sounded like they were open to. LIASSON: The sticking points are mostly about spending. RASCOE: So what are the sticking points here, though? Both sides have to prove to their respective bases that they're not going to compromise unnecessarily. But today, as you heard, he accused Republicans of looking for a partisan solution to something that has to be bipartisan. Until now, he was talking about progress in the talks. LIASSON: Well, it sounds like that face-saving offramp to avoid a default is not anywhere in sight. RASCOE: So what do you make of what Biden said today? NPR's national political correspondent, Mara Liasson, joins us now. He also said he's talking with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on his flight home from Japan, where he's been attending the G-7 summit.
RASCOE: He called out, in particular, Republican proposals that would benefit the pharmaceutical and fossil fuel industries while cutting back on food stamps and Medicaid. PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Now it's time for the other side to move their - from their extreme positions because much of what they've already proposed is simply, quite frankly, unacceptable. Earlier today, President Biden said he's done his part to offer solutions to avoid a default on the federal debt.
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