WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden delivered his first speech from the Oval Office on Friday night to discuss a bill to raise the debt ceiling and limit federal spending, calling it a “critical” deal. He signed the bill on Saturday.

“Nobody got everything they wanted, but the American people got what they needed. We avoided an economic crisis and an economic collapse,” Biden said.

The debt ceiling compromise bill passed the Senate by a 63-36 margin Thursday night, garnering enough bipartisan support to pass the house’s 60-vote threshold to avoid a move. obstructionist. On Wednesday, it passed through the House after about 72 hours, passing 314-117.

The deal comes with little time to spare: The Treasury Department estimated that the federal government would run out of money on June 5 if the debt ceiling had not been lifted.

“This is vital,” Biden said. “Essential to all the progress we’ve made in recent years is maintaining the full faith and credit of the United States and passing a budget that continues to grow our economy and reflects our values ​​as a nation.”

Without the agreement, federal obligations like Social Security, Medicare, and military paychecks would not have been met. And not raising the debt ceiling would have disrupted global financial markets and led to job losses in the US.

The bill comes after weeks of intense negotiations between the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, and the White House. The final deal handed conservatives several ideological political victories in exchange for their votes to raise the debt ceiling beyond next year’s presidential election and into 2025.