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Lawmakers on Capitol Hill announced Thursday that they've reached a deal to lift the national debt ceiling through December while continuing to work on a longer-term budget solution. The deal comes a day after Charlie Oppler, president of the National Association of REALTORS®, met with President Joe Biden and other business leaders at the White House on Wednesday to discuss the issue.
Biden called the meeting to pressure Congress to act before Oct. 18, which is when Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says the country could default on its debt payments. Yellen said the consequences of a default would be “devastating.”
© Chip Somodevilla - Getty Images News
“With more than $8 trillion in mortgage debt backed by the federal government, the real estate sector is highly susceptible to market instability,” Oppler said in a statement following the White House meeting. “A debt default would unleash unnecessary and unknown harm on the economy and our 1.5 million members, most of whom are small business owners. And rising interest rates would serve a devastating blow to the homeownership dreams of countless American families. We encourage Congress to keep working on a long-term debt ceiling solution to maintain stability and faith in the American economy.”
Last month, NAR and other leading trade organizations sent a letter to Congressional leadership urging action on the debt limit. The letter read: “We have no collective preference for the manner or legislative vehicle you use to resolve this critical issue and protect the full faith and credit of the United States, but inaction—or even the possibility of inaction—can agitate U.S. financial market stability broadly.”