Mnuchin: Negotiators reach core of budget deal
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday that negotiators have reached an agreement on the core elements of a deal to increase the government’s borrowing cap and set a $1.3 trillion overall level for the agency budgets that Congress passes each year.
He told CNBC’S “Squawk Box” that talks with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-calif., have settled on a debt limit increase that would cover two years. There was agreement also on spending levels, but he did not go into detail.
“The good news is we’ve reached an agreement between the administration, the House and the Senate on top line numbers for both year one and year two,” Mnuchin said, speaking from France, where he was at an economic summit. “We’re now discussing offsets as well as certain structural issues, and we’ve agreed as a part of that deal there would be a long-term, two-year debt ceiling increase.”
At issue are two separate but pressing items on Washington’s must-do agenda: increasing the debt limit to avert a first ever default on U.S. payments and acting to set overall spending limits and prevent automatic spending cuts from hitting the Pentagon and domestic agencies in January.
Pelosi and Mnuchin spoke by phone again Thursday, Pelosi told reporters. “Our conversations are continuing. We’ve been very firm though about a decision. If they want us to have this done by before we leave we have to come to a conclusion pretty soon,” Pelosi said.