Monday, July 22, 2019

Pelosi, Mnuchin reach 'near-final agreement' on budget, debt ceiling

"The near-final agreement is a traditional bipartisan budget agreement where both sides will be unhappy with some aspects - a true compromise," the source said in an email to The Hill.

That's half of the $150 billion the administration had pushed to include in the agreement.

How to pay for the budget deal, and how much of it to pay for, was the final major sticking point for the negotiations, after talks bounced between Pelosi and Mnuchin for more than a week.

"That's what we're discussing. We're close. And I think there's a desire to come to an agreement from all of us. My worry here [is] ... if Mulvaney tries to be too hard on the offset side that we wouldn't come to an agreement," Senate Minority Leader told reporters last week, referring to acting White House chief of staff.

The burgeoning agreement comes as lawmakers are going down to the wire to get a deal before they leave town for the August recess.

Without an agreement, lawmakers were under pressure to hold a stand-alone vote on hiking the debt ceiling before they left for the August recess.

"Based on updated projections, there is a scenario in which we run out of cash in early September, before Congress reconvenes. As such, I request that Congress increase the debt ceiling before Congress leaves for summer recess," Mnuchin wrote in a letter to congressional leadership earlier this month.

https://thehill.com/policy/finance/454131-pelosi-mnuchin-reach-near-final-agreement-on-budget-debt-ceiling

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