US lawmakers consider debt ceiling deal

Republican Representatives Scott Perry and Chip Roy discuss the debt limit deal during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, May 30, 2023. [AP Photo]

Lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday began considering legislation to suspend the government's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling until early 2025 so it can borrow more money to keep paying the country's bills, as White House officials welcomed the deal reached through fraught negotiations that brought the U.S. to the brink of defaulting before it is predicted to run out of money in coming days.

"This was no easy task to get here," said Shalanda Young, director of the Office of Management and Budget, who was part of the administration's negotiating team. "But what was on the line for the American people is real. I know I breathe a little easier. I called my parents, told them to breathe a little easier that a deal had been reached."