WASHINGTON, July 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump and Democratic congressional leaders confirmed Monday that the White House and Congress struck an agreement on increasing overall spending levels and suspending the debt ceiling for two years.
"I am pleased to announce that a deal has been struck with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy - on a two-year Budget and Debt Ceiling," Trump tweeted.
The president, however, didn't say whether he will sign the deal into law if it is passed by both chambers of Congress.
"Today, a bipartisan agreement has been reached that will enhance our national security and invest in middle class priorities that advance the health, financial security and well-being of the American people," Pelosi and Schumer said in a joint statement.
"The House will now move swiftly to bring the budget caps and debt ceiling agreement legislation to the Floor, so that it can be sent to the President's desk as soon as possible," said the statement.
The agreement, which covers fiscal years 2020 and 2021, would raise overall spending levels by 320 billion U.S. dollars above the limits set in 2011. It would also suspend the federal debt ceiling until July 31, 2021.
The current debt ceiling expired on March 1, when the debt ballooned to over 22 trillion dollars. The Treasury Department, which predicted a "most conservative scenario" in which the department will run out of cash in early September, has taken a series of "extraordinary measures" to prevent the nation from defaulting on its payment obligations.
Overall, the agreement will see the budget cap for discretionary spending rise to 1.37 trillion dollars in 2020 and 1.375 trillion dollars in 2021.
The deal also includes about 75 billion dollars in offsets for equal increases in military and non-military spending. The White House on Thursday requested that House Democrats select 150 billion dollars in offsets, an offer rejected by Pelosi.
Earlier in the day, Trump told reporters when hosting Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in the Oval Office that it was "very important" to take care of the U.S. military.
The Democrats, for their part, managed to secure 632 billion dollars in 2020 and 635 billion dollars in 2021 for domestic spending, according to Bloomberg.
However, it could be a challenge for Pelosi to sell the agreement to liberals in her own caucus who are opposed to upping the defense spending. Republicans secured more defense spending in the agreement -- 738 billion dollars in 2020 and 741 billion dollars in 2021, Bloomberg News reported.
Monday's agreement, if becoming law, would avoid the automatic cuts looming in January that would have reduced 55 billion dollars in domestic spending and shrank military spending by 71 billion dollars compared with 2019 levels.
The automatic across-the-board cuts, known as "sequester," were established in the Budget Control Act of 2011. It intends to cut spending for federal agencies totaling 1.2 trillion dollars during the decade ending in 2021, when the law is set to expire.
With the spending levels being raised, the agreement would permanently end the sequester, a move hailed by Pelosi and Schumer as an important win for Democrats.
"Importantly, Democrats have achieved an agreement that permanently ends the threat of the sequester," they said in the statement. "We are pleased that the Administration has finally agreed to join Democrats in ending these devastating cuts."
The legislative and executive branches must come up with short-term budget deals in order not to trigger the sequester, which did take effect in 2013 and has been avoided several times since.
A House vote is expected before Friday, when the chamber leaves for the August recess. The Senate's recess is scheduled to start on Aug. 2.
