By Brai Odion-Esene

WASHINGTON (MNI) – U.S. Vice President Joe Biden Monday declared
his confidence that Congress will pass the legislation to raise the debt
ceiling agreed to by the White House and leaders in Congress.

Speaking to reporters following a meeting with House Democrats to
explain details of Sunday night’s agreement, the vice president said “I
feel confident” that the bill will pass Congress.

Highlighting the fact that, if passed, the bill would ensure the
debt ceiling issue does not come before lawmakers again until 2013,
Biden said this will allow the administration to focus on job creation.

The stand-off over raising the debt limit has dominated the
airwaves and the news cycle over the last few weeks, which is why “we
had to get this out of the way to get to the issue of growing the
economy,” Biden said.

He added that the agreement reached between the White House and
Congressional leaders will not prevent the administration from being to
able to keep funding “those initiatives within our budget that our the
job creators.”

These are infrastructure, innovation and education, Biden added.

“There is room within the budget to fund those priorities,” he
said, and the specter of a political fight over the debt ceiling
impeding job creation efforts will be removed if the bill is passed by
Congress.

Before his meeting with House Democrats, Biden met with Senate
Democrats. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told reporters afterward
that the plan is now for the House to vote first on the debt ceiling
agreement “sometime this evening,” and then send the bill back to the
Senate.

Reid said he hopes the Senate could vote on the plan Monday evening
but said this is not certain. Passage in the Senate is viewed as more
certain, but the House vote is deemed a nailbiter and is responsible
for the bulk of the angst felt in the financial markets.

The bill in question, called the Budget Control Act of 2011, calls
for $1 trillion in discretionary savings over ten years that will be
secured by putting in place caps on discretionary programs.

A bipartisan congressional committee will be created to identify an
additional $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction, including from
entitlement programs and from tax reform. This panel must make its
recommendations in November 23, 2011. If Congress fails to accept this
plan by Dec. 23, across-the-board spending cuts would be triggered to
secure more than $1 trillion in savings

Under the agreement, the debt ceiling will be increased by $2.1
trillion which should extend Treasury borrowing until early 2013.

** Market News International Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **

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