Spending cuts remain GOP focus as debt ceiling talks continue

May 17 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden said Wednesday he was optimistic about the prospects of breaking an impasse over the debt, stressing the United States is not a "deadbeat" nation that skirts its financial obligations.

Biden discussed meetings Tuesday with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and others as "productive."

"Everyone came to the meeting in good faith," he said. "Every leader in the room understands the consequences if we fail to pay our bills."

The Biden administration and congressional Republicans remain at loggerheads over raising the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling ahead of its June 1 deadline.

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday continued to insist on spending cuts and work requirements for public assistance programs as part of any deal to raise the debt limit.

"When we talk about work requirements, President Biden voted for that. President Clinton signed it into law," McCarthy said.

Appearing unannounced at a Wednesday press conference of fellow Republican lawmakers, McCarthy stressed the rationale for deep cuts to spending.

"Our debt is larger than our economy, by more than 20%. If we do nothing, we will pay more in interest in the next 10 years than we paid in the last 83," McCarthy said.

The GOP is using its majority in the House to push back against Democratic spending, an issue they have tied to raising the debt ceiling, linking past expenditures to future plans.

The president and his colleagues in the Democratic Party, however, insist the debt ceiling must be raised without conditions to make sure the country's bills are paid.

Biden said that, during discussions on Tuesday, all leaders involved recognized that defaulting on debt obligations would be "catastrophic."

"America is not a dead-beat nation," the president said. "We pay our bills."

Congress has raised the debt ceiling 78 times since 1960, the majority of which occurred during Republican presidencies. That includes three times during the previous Trump administration.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned repeatedly of economic catastrophe if an agreement on raising the debt ceiling is not made prior to the June deadline. Not only would it mean a delay in payments to federal employments, Social Security and other payments, it would spike consumer-level inflation and create global havoc given the important role the U.S. economy has in the global market.

Biden stressed, however, that a default will not happen on his watch.

"The nation has never defaulted in its debt and we never will," he said.

The president said earlier this week he would skip out on the so-called Quad summit planned for next week in Sydney to attend to debt concerns. He is, however, going ahead with a meeting of the G7 set for Friday.

Biden said he plans to return from his overseas trip in time for a Sunday press conference to discuss progress on preventing a default on U.S. debt obligations. McCarthy, for his part, said Tuesday that a breakthrough was possible "by the end of the week."