Elon Musk says Twitter is still losing cash because advertising has dropped by half.In a reply to a tweet offering business advice, Musk tweeted Saturday, "We're still negative cash flow, due to (about a) 50% drop in advertising revenue plus heavy debt load.""Need to reach positive cash flow before we have the luxury of anything else," he concluded.Video above: Meta's 'Threads' takes on TwitterEver since he took over Twitter in a $44 billion deal last fall, Musk has tried to reassure advertisers who were concerned about the ouster of top executives, widespread layoffs and a different approach to content moderation. Some high-profile users who had been banned were allowed back on the site.In April, Musk said most of the advertisers who left had returned and that the company might become cash-flow positive in the second quarter.In May, he hired a new CEO, Linda Yaccarino, an NBCUniversal executive with deep ties to the advertising industry.But since then, Twitter has upset some users by imposing new limits on how many tweets they can view in a day, and some users complained that they were locked out of the site. Musk said the restrictions were needed to prevent unauthorized scraping of potentially valuable data.Twitter got a new competitor this month when Facebook owner Meta launched a text-focused app, Threads, and gained tens of millions of sign-ups in a few days. Twitter responded by threatening legal action.Video below: Doctor discusses impact of social media on adults' mental health

Prenups, or pre-nuptial agreements, don't always have the most positive connotation. 

While they are legal agreements entered into by couples before marriage — often to keep finances separate despite being otherwise legally joined  — they can be a touchy subject for couples starting to build a life together.

But that stigma seems to be fading away. A new report from The Harris Poll said that this year, 15% of U.S. adults surveyed signed a prenup, which is up from just 3% in 2010. It also found that 35% of unmarried people say they're likely to sign a prenup in the future.

In the Americas, prenups go back to 17th century Canada, when French colonist men married women who came to the country with financial assistance from King Louis XIV. These women were so highly sought after that they were able to convince their husbands to sign prenups. This came at a time when men outnumbered women, so women had a leg up. Eventually that gender ratio evened out, and prenups went away.

They got popular again in the U.S. much later. A 1970 Florida case Posner v Posner ruled that prenups should be a standard practice.

One big possible factor in their usage today is the fact that millennials now have more debt than previous generations. One survey found that nearly three quarters of millennials have over $100,000 in debt on average, not including mortgages. 

The most common debt is credit card debt followed by student loans. There's also medical debt and personal loans. 

Prenups can protect your partner from taking on your debt in the case of death of divorce. In some states, your spouse can be held accountable for all of your debt acquired during the marriage.

SEE MORE: Weddings Are Back In A Big Way, But They Have A Higher Price Tag

Kelly Chang Rickert is a family law attorney in California who specializes in prenups, and she sees debt come up in divorce cases all the time.  

"It's not unusual for me to have a divorce where one side has a Neiman Marcus card and charged up $70,000, and the other side... they are responsible for half the debt because it was acquired during the marriage," Chang Rickert said.

But the breakdown of who's responsible for what differs from state to state. For instance, some states are community property states, meaning unless you sign a prenup, everything acquired during the marriage must be split 50/50. That's how things work in Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.

In other states, laws differ. There can be different rules around what makes prenups enforceable. For example, in Connecticut there's a specific window of time between when the prenup is presented and when the marriage happens for it to hold up. So, it's important to see what a state requires beforehand.

Another reason more people could be getting prenups is because they're getting married later in life and have more assets to protect coming into the marriage. According to Pew, in 2019 the average age a man first got married was 30, and for women it was 28. That's three years later for both men and women compared to 2003 and four years later than 1987.

"These days, a lot of people work for themselves," Chang Rickert said. "If you're a social media influencer or you're an artist or you're a writer, a lot of people make money off their creative efforts. So if they have a business coming into the marriage, a lot of them don't want to share that in case it doesn't work out."

This leads to the question of how finances are split. This determines what a prenup could look like. In the 70s and 80s, it was common practice to put all your money into shared accounts with your spouse. But over the past several years, the number of married couples who keep some of their finances separate has risen.

Experts say if couples have a joint account for things they share, they can opt to keep everything else separate, and in the case of divorce, they'll only have to worry about dividing the joint account. But it's important to note that separate accounts won't stay separate unless a prenup is signed stating that.  

"Even if you don't have a prenup, you kind of do: It's called the law," Chang Rickert said. "So if you don't have a prenup, you're just going by what your state law says. California says community property, so your debt is my debt. That's what the state law says. So if you don't like that, then you should craft your own."

SEE MORE: Vendors Are Welcoming The Wedding Boom, But Not Without Obstacles

Rickert Chang recommends getting a prenup ideally a year before your wedding. She also points out a few pros of prenups. For one, the stereotypical scenario we see in movies where a rich guy asks his fiancé to sign a prenup — it could actually be a good thing.  

"If you were smart about it, and the guy's like, 'I want you to sign a prenup saying I don't want community,' then what you could do is you can negotiate it," Chang Rickert said. "You could be like, 'Fine, I won't touch your stuff, but in lieu of that, I would like 50,000 a year or 1,000, 100,000 a year,' and that way you can negotiate, and you can actually get money by agreeing to sign a prenup."

There's also certain professions where it's strongly encouraged to protect the other person. 

"Definitely lawyers or doctors, I think you should always get prenup," Chang Rickert said. "Not just only because it's my business — I don't want you taking half of it, but also it's a business that I can get sued on. So, I would like to protect you from any lawsuits that I might get."

As prenups have become more common, more people have dug into this topic on social media platforms like TikTok. Chang Rickert has an account of her own where she educates people on prenups to help break down myths and stigmas, including that they aren't just for rich people and not just in case of divorce.

Now, there aren't necessarily more divorces now. CDC data shows that divorces declined between 2000 and 2020. 

However in the case of a divorce, not signing a prenup could really pile on to the cost of divorce, which can already be pretty high, costing between $15,000 to $20,000 on average.

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NEW YORK (AP)  — When President Joe Biden announced a plan to forgive student loan debt, many borrowers who kept making payments during the pandemic wondered if they'd made the right choice.

Borrowers who paid down their debt during a pandemic freeze that started in March 2020 can, in fact, get a refund — and then apply for forgiveness – but the process for doing that hasn’t always been clear.

If you think you’re eligible, here’s what you need to know:

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WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR A REFUND?

Borrowers who hold eligible federal student loans and have made voluntary payments since March 13, 2020, can get a refund, according to the Department of Education.

For some people, that refund will be automatic. You can get a refund without applying if your payments brought your loan balance below the maximum debt relief amount: $10,000 for all borrowers and $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients. Borrowers can check their balance in their studentaid.gov account.

For example, if a borrower paid $100 a month for 10 months of the pandemic and their balance is now $8,000, that $1,000 will automatically be refunded. Then they can apply to get the rest of their debt forgiven.

But if a borrower paid throughout the pandemic and still owes $14,000, they won’t get an automatic refund. They can, however, apply to have $10,000 of that debt erased.

Another group of people that has to apply for a refund is those who completely paid off their loan balance during the pandemic. If that’s you, you’re eligible for loan forgiveness, but you’ll have to request a refund prior to applying for debt relief. Borrowers should confirm their eligibility for the loan forgiveness program prior to requesting a refund.

For example, if a borrower had $5,000 in debt at the start of the pandemic and paid it all back during the freeze but is eligible for up to $10,000 in forgiveness, they would apply for a $5,000 refund, then apply to have their debt forgiven.

“Borrowers who paid off their loans during the pause will need to request a refund first, then request cancellation,” said a spokesperson from the Department of Education.

The refund is not available for private student loans.

Eligible federal student loans:

—Direct Loans (defaulted and non-defaulted)

—Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans held by ED (defaulted and non-defaulted)

—Federal Perkins Loans held by ED (defaulted and non-defaulted)

—Defaulted FFEL Program loans not held by ED

—Defaulted HEAL loans

If you are not sure which loan you have, visit your dashboard at studentaid.gov and find the “my loan servicers” section. If you can’t access your dashboard, you can call the Federal Student Aid office at 1-800-433-3243 to ask for loan servicer information.

HOW CAN I APPLY FOR A REFUND?

Borrowers who want a specific amount refunded can apply by calling their loan service provider. Right now, refunds are only being done via phone and not through any website or email.

When the Biden Administration announced the forgiveness, loan servicers found themselves inundated with calls. But many borrowers now say they’re not waiting long when calling.

“I was on hold for about five minutes,” said Megan McParland, of New Jersey, who graduated in 2018 and made several payments during the payment freeze.

McParland requested a refund the first week of September. At first, she felt the servicer tried to dissuade her from making the request. But after confirming that she wanted to proceed, she was told that she would see her refund in about a month.

Sierra Tibbs, a 47-year-old resident of Casselberry, Florida, had a similar experience. The entire phone call with her loan servicer took around 20 minutes.

Tibbs applied for a refund after seeing a video online informing her that she could get back money she paid during the pandemic.

If you are unsure who services your loan or if the servicer changed during the pandemic, visit your student aid account dashboard and scroll to “my loan servicers” or call 1-800-433-3243.

Before calling your loan provider to request your refund, you need to know your account number and the amount you want to be refunded.

—Loan servicers’ phone numbers:

FedLoan Servicing: 1-800-699-2908

Great Lakes Educational Loan Services, Inc.: 1-800-236-4300

Edfinancial: 1-855-337-6884

MOHELA: 1-888-866-4352

Aidvantage: 1-800-722-1300

Nelnet: 1-888-486-4722

OSLA Servicing: 1-866-264-9762

ECSI: 1-866-313-3797

Default Resolution Group: 1-800-621-3115 (1-877-825-9923 for the deaf or hard of hearing)

HOW WILL THE REFUND WORK — AND WHEN WILL MY LOANS BE FORGIVEN?

When you request a refund, the amount that you have paid during the payment freeze will be added back to your student loan balance, said Katherine Welbeck, Civil Rights Counsel for the Student Borrower Protection Center.

That amount is still eligible for cancellation and can be eliminated after you apply for forgiveness.

You're eligible for debt relief if you had an annual federal income below $125,000 individually or $250,000 if you're married or head of household in 2020 or 2021. The application is expected to open in early October, and you can apply until Dec. 31, 2023.

It is unclear when borrowers will see debt relief. So far, the plan only mentions borrowers will be notified by their loan servicer when their debt is forgiven. There is also a possibility that forgiveness could be delayed if the Biden administration faces legal challenges.

Laura Baum, a 30-year-old resident of Chicago, paid $5,000 during the payment freeze toward her $15,000 remaining debt. She is eligible to have $20,000 canceled since she was a Pell grant recipient when she was an undergraduate. At the beginning of September, Baum called her loan servicer and asked for a refund.

But because of the uncertainty, she plans to save that money until the Department of Education confirms her debt has been canceled.

“I’m going to hold on to that refund until I absolutely see $0 in my student loans,” Baum said.

WHEN IS THE DEADLINE TO APPLY?

The deadline to apply for a refund is December 31, 2023. However, Welbeck recommends applying for a refund before applying for debt forgiveness.

“If you apply first, you can process the refund to get your money back, and then that balance in your account is canceled,” Welbeck said.

The application process for loan forgiveness is expected to take four to six weeks.

The Department of Education offers a subscription page where you can sign up to be notified when the application is open.

HOW MUCH CAN I GET REFUNDED?

According to the Department of Education, you can get a refund for the entire amount you paid during the payment freeze. However, you can choose a lower amount.

You might pick this option if, during the pandemic, you paid enough to get your debt below the maximum amount of forgiveness. You could get a partial refund, then apply to have your remaining debt wiped out.

Say you had $15,000 worth of debt remaining at the beginning of the payment freeze and have since paid $8,000 but qualify for $10,000 in debt relief. You might decide to ask for a refund of just $3,000. Then, your debt balance will be exactly $10,000, and you can apply for maximum loan forgiveness.

WHEN WILL I GET MY REFUND?

Borrowers should expect to receive their refund six to 12 weeks after requesting it, according to the Department of Education. But you might want to double-check with your loan servicer.

McParland’s loan servicer told her that she should see her refunded amount in 30 to 45 business days, but Baum was told that it would take 60 to 70 business days to see her money back in her bank account.

IS THE REFUND TAXABLE INCOME?

It is not yet clear if the refunded money will be considered taxable income. Welbeck recommends borrowers check with financial advisers from their own state.

Some states, such as Indiana, have already said they will tax debt relief for people who have their student loans canceled. Policies vary from state to state.

DOES THE REFUND AFFECT MY CREDIT SCORE?

Since the Department of Education has not yet announced how the cancellation or refunds will be reported to the credit bureaus, it is still uncertain if these amounts will affect borrowers’ credit scores, said Welbeck.

SHOULD I START PAYING AGAIN WHEN THE PAYMENT FREEZE ENDS?

The pandemic payment freeze is set to end on Dec. 31. If you have not seen debt relief by then, you are still expected to start making payments. Welbeck recommends that borrowers enroll in income-driven repayment plans before the end of the payment freeze.

Income-driven repayment plans allow you to set an affordable payment amount based on income and family size.

You can find more information about the four types of income-driven repayment plans here.

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You can find all of AP's financial wellness coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/financial-wellness.

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The Associated Press receives support from Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy. The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. The AP is solely responsible for its journalism.

BALTIMORE — Restaurants are the backbones of communities across the country. They bring us to the freshest bodies of water, different countries, and the most unique spaces without leaving the comfort of our neighborhoods. Three years after the start of the pandemic, restaurants are still fighting to stay alive.

A year ago, we visited Baltimore to check in on restaurants that never received their funds from the government's Restaurant Revitalization Fund, and now, a year later, we are checking in.

Every restaurant has something different their customers always come back for. Here in Baltimore, it's likely you'll find it to be seafood. However, those signature flavors disappear if a business can't stay afloat. The Local Oyster is one restaurant that worries about its future.

"The Local Oyster started in 2015. We have been shucking oysters and serving crab cakes for the last seven years," said Patrick Hudson, one of the owners. "We were not generating any revenue; we were simply incurring losses and debt throughout the entire pandemic."

The Local Oyster has already had to close one of its locations in Arlington, Virginia. The restaurant's last spot remains standing, but shakily.

"Thinking about business before COVID is sort of like thinking about college; it was just a haze. It's like I can't even really remember what it was like. It's just so different," Hudson said.

Hudson says they are one of the thousands of businesses who saw their approval for the restaurant revitalization fund revoked last year. Congress provided $28.6 billion in grants, but funding dried up and two-thirds of the restaurants that were approved for funding received nothing.

"What that does is it leaves the local oyster in a position where we have hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt going forward, and to be honest, I don't know how sustainable that is. I don't know if that's going to last," Hudson said.

It's been over a year since that bad news was delivered, but the ripple effects of the pandemic continue to affect them every minute, of every day.

"And it's kind of surreal and people will come up to me during service and say, 'Well, I'm really glad you survived the pandemic' and I just have to shake my head," Hudson said. "We're gonna be struggling with the impact of the pandemic for the next generation of restaurant owners."

Damye Hahn runs Faidley's Seafood just a few minutes down the road.

"It would be like equating you to having a year and a half worth of mortgage payments that you haven't been able to pay, and all of a sudden, you get a job. Well that you're gonna be able to pay your mortgage, but that year and a half of mortgage payments is still hanging out there," Hahn said. "We just felt like the hits just kept coming and once we thought everything was beginning to get better than this incredible inflation hit. And it has been difficult again."

They've been in business for more than 130 years. Yet, these last few have been unmatched.

"We've had to raise prices. We've had to cut items off the menu that we can't carry anymore because they are just too expensive," Hahn said. "Fishing, it's been terrible to try to get fish because the poor guys, all their boats are diesel, and the diesel is outrageous. Fish and seafood have gone up dramatically. Some of it two and three times what we paid in 2019."

These are the kinds of roadblocks that can change a restaurant's identity.

"We consider ourselves really ambassadors of the Chesapeake region, so we make sure that we gave local fish, local crab, local oysters, real local seafood," Hahn said.

It worries Hahn about the future of the industry.

"This industry is so important because we tell the story of the Chesapeake, but there's restaurants that tell stories of the farms and other industries," Hahn said.

According to a NerdWallet report, more Americans are concerned about increasing debt. Culprits of rising debt include credit cards and buy now, pay later offers.

These offers are causing Americans to spend money they do not have.

“Americans are definitely spending more, not because they necessarily want to, but because they have to,” said Sara Rathner, a personal finance expert with Nerd Wallet. “Inflation is driving up the prices of all these things we need to buy every day and that means that more consumers are leaning on their credit cards to make ends meet without necessarily having a plan in place to pay those bills back in full. “

People are most concerned about prices rising faster than income and using credit cards to cover necessities.

Buy now pay later also contributes to debt numbers, as about 20 percent of Americans say they've used the service in the past 12 months.

“There are many consumers who, unfortunately, have not been able to make their payments on time for these plans, and sometimes it can be a result of having multiple buy now, pay later plans going on at the same time,” said Rathner. “That means a lot of money is automatically coming out of your bank account, and you just want to be careful before you enter into these agreements to make sure that you have the money available to make these payments when they're due.”

She says for big purchases, a better approach could be using a credit card with rewards so you can get some of that money back.

But the key is to give yourself time to save so you can make on-time payments.

WASHINGTON —

President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are set to meet on Wednesday — the first such gathering since the California Republican won the speakership after Republicans took over the House majority.

The highly anticipated meeting is expected to influence how the fight to raise the national debt limit unfolds as the White House and the new House GOP majority are at odds over how to resolve the critical issue.

House Republicans say that lifting the borrowing cap must be tied to spending reductions. The White House, however, has countered that it will not offer concessions or negotiate on raising the debt ceiling.

The U.S. hit the debt ceiling set by Congress in January, forcing the Treasury Department to start taking extraordinary measures to keep the government paying its bills and escalating pressure on Capitol Hill to avoid a catastrophic default.

The debt limit fight will be an early test of McCarthy's leadership as House speaker, where he has to balance competing demands from different factions of his conference amid a razor-thin majority. It will also shed light on how, and to what extent, McCarthy and Biden are able to work with one another.

Senate Republicans have indicated they will sit back and see how the House GOP maneuvers a way to raise the $31.4 trillion borrowing limit — before deciding if they need to insert themselves into the process.

McCarthy told reporters on Tuesday the nation has reached "a critical point" with respect to the debt limit. Discussing his upcoming meeting with Biden, McCarthy said, "I want to sit down, I want to talk to him. I think we could find common ground. We could find a lot of savings in the spending of government that saves the hardworking taxpayers their money."

Battle lines begin to be drawn

Republicans face a political risk as they push to cut spending: If they propose cuts to popular government programs and services, they could face a public backlash.

While McCarthy has not settled on any individual proposal and is unlikely to make a specific offer at the Wednesday meeting, he has been hearing suggestions from key players in his conference as he prepares for his first face-to-face meeting with Biden.

Ahead of Wednesday's meeting, McCarthy has been involved in extensive preparations, consulting regularly with allies on and off the hill including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich as well as his relevant committee chairs who he has been leaning on for their policy expertise, such as Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith of Missouri and Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, sources familiar with the preparation told CNN.

McCarthy and his House GOP allies are hashing out initial demands, discussing steep cuts to domestic programs and a trim to defense spending — all the while steering clear of two programs to avoid voter blowback: Medicare and Social Security.

House Republicans are hoping to strengthen their negotiating hand with the White House by uniting around a proposal, but finding conference-wide consensus on spending cuts may prove challenging.

The view from Republicans heading into Wednesday's meeting is that it is still early and there are still months of negotiations ahead — meaning there's plenty of time for McCarthy to lay out specifics. Still, leaders are also aware they have to begin laying the groundwork with their members now.

Part of McCarthy's efforts will come Wednesday morning when House leaders hold a special conference on the issue of the debt ceiling, an effort to begin to lay the groundwork for members on what is actually achievable in these negotiations. Sources familiar with the planning of that meeting told CNN that the goal is to begin member education and remind the rank-and-file what a reasonable ask will look like in a negotiation when Democrats still control the Senate and the White House. Expectation setting is part of the GOP strategy behind the scenes if leaders are going to be able to ultimately get concessions from the White House at all.

The White House, meanwhile, has continued to emphasize the critical importance of avoiding a catastrophic default.

McCarthy's position that cuts to Medicare and Social Security are not on the table in exchange for a debt ceiling increase has drawn skepticism the White House. And when asked for his message to McCarthy in the meeting, the president told CNN, "Show me your budget and I'll show you mine."

In the meeting, Biden will remind McCarthy of his "Constitutional obligation to prevent a national default, as every other House and Senate leader in U.S. history has done, and as Leaders (Mitch) McConnell, (Chuck) Schumer, and (Hakeem) Jeffries have pledged to do," a White House spokesperson said in a statement to CNN. "He will underscore that the economic security of all Americans cannot be held hostage to force unpopular cuts on working families."

In a memo to "interested parties" dated Monday that was written by National Economic Council Director Brian Deese and Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young, Biden's top economic advisers said the president intends to pose two questions to McCarthy on Wednesday when the two men meet: Whether McCarthy will commit to the U.S. not defaulting on its financial obligations and when McCarthy and House Republicans will release their budget.

Biden, the officials wrote, "will seek a clear commitment from Speaker McCarthy that default — as well as proposals from members of his Caucus for default by another name — is unacceptable."

They added, "President Biden will ask Speaker McCarthy to publicly assure the American people and the rest of the world that the United States will, as always, honor all of its financial obligations."

A day ahead of the meeting, the president suggested McCarthy was entering the talks from a weakened position, hampered by agreements he made with an unruly GOP conference.

Calling McCarthy a "decent man," Biden nonetheless said he had been forced to cater to extremist Republicans in his quest to become speaker.

Biden said at a high-dollar fundraiser in Manhattan that McCarthy had to make commitments "that are just absolutely off the wall for the speaker of the House to make."

Responding to the president's fundraiser comments, McCarthy told reporters, "Apparently, he doesn't understand ... I'm looking forward to sitting down with the president, negotiating for the American public, the people of America, on how we can find savings. We've watched what the spending has done, we watched it brought us inflation, we watched the challenge that it happened. We're looking forward to changing the course."

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My fellow Americans when I ran for president, I was told the days of bipartisanship are over and the Democrats and Republicans can no longer work together. But I refuse to believe that because America can never give into that way of thinking. Look, the only way American democracy can function is through compromise and consensus. And that's what I work to do as your president, you know, to forge bipartisan agreement where it's possible and where it's needed. I've signed more than 350 bipartisan laws thus far, almost 2.5 years including the historic law that rebuilding America so that we can rank number one in the world in infrastructure instead of where we're ranked now number 13 in the world, another historic law, rebuilding our manufacturing base. So that will lead the world once again in making semiconductor chips so much more and so so many more and so many more sophisticated ones. And now *** bipartisan budget agreement, this is vital because because it's essential to the progress we made over the last few years is keeping full faith and credit of the United States of America and passing *** budget that continues to grow our economy and reflects our values as *** nation. That's why I'm speaking tonight to report on the crisis of verdict and what we're doing to protect America's future. Passing this budget agreement was critical. The stakes could not have been higher if we had failed to reach an agreement on the budget. There were extreme voices threatening to take America for the first time in our 247 year history and to default on our national debt, nothing, nothing would have been more irresponsible. Nothing would have been more catastrophic. Our economy would have been thrown in *** recession. Retirement accounts from millions of Americans would have been decimated. Eight million Americans would have lost their jobs. Default would have been have have destroyed our nation's credit rating which would have made everything from mortgages to car loans, to funding for the government much more expensive. And it would have taken years to climb out of that hole and America standing as the most trusted, reliable financial partner in the world would have been shattered. So it was critical to reach an agreement and it's very good news for the American people. No one got everything they want but the American people got what they needed. We averted an economic crisis, an economic collapse. We're cutting spending and bringing the deficits down. At the same time, we're protecting important priorities from Social security to Medicare, to Medicaid, to veterans, to our transformational investments in infrastructure and clean energy. I want to commend Senator Speaker mccarthy, you know, uh he and I uh we and our teams, we were able to get along, get things done. We were straightforward with one another, completely honest with one another, respectful with one another. Both sides operated in good faith. Both sides kept their word. And I also want to commend other congressional leaders. House minority leader Jeffries, Senate, majority leader Schumer Senate, minority leader mcconnell, they acted responsibly and put the good of the country ahead of politics. The final vote in both chambers was overwhelming. Far more bipartisan than anyone thought was possible. So I want to thank the members of Congress who voted to pass this agreement, which I'm gonna sign tomorrow and become the law. So here's what the deal does. First, it cuts spending and over the next 10 years, the deficit will be cut by more than $1 trillion and I'll be on top of the record 1.7 trillion $1.7 trillion. I already cut the deficit in my first two years in office and it's clear we're all in *** much more fiscally responsible course than the one I inherited when I took office. Four years ago, when I came to office, the deficit had increased every year, the previous four years and nearly $8 trillion were added to the national debt in the last administration. And now we're turning things around and that's good for America. You know, my dad used to have an expression. He said, Joey, don't tell me what you value, show me your budget. I'll tell you what you value. That's at the heart of this debate. What do we value protecting seniors? You may remember during my State of the Union address, there was, there was *** spirit exchange between me and *** few Republicans spontaneously occurring on the floor of the House of Representatives. I was pointing out that for years, some of them were putting forward proposals to cut Social Security Medicare and some of them that night took exception and they said very loudly that that wasn't true. So I asked them on the floor at that night, I said, ask them *** simple question. Will you agree not to cut social security not to cut Medicare? Would they agree to protect these essential programs? *** lifeline for millions of Americans programs that these Americans have been paying and into every single paycheck they've earned since they started working and it provides so much peace of mind with the bright lights and cameras on those few Republicans who were protesting, they agreed, they said they wouldn't cut it. That's how we protected Social Security Medicare from the beginning and from *** being cut period, health care was another priority for me. *** top priority. I made it clear from the outset, I would not agree to any cuts in Medicaid, another essential lifeline for millions of Americans, including Children in poverty, the elderly, in nursing homes and Americans living with disabilities. The original House Republican proposal would have cut health care for up to 21 million Americans on Medicaid. And I said no, and Medicare is protected and so are millions of people most in need. Look, I've long believed that the only one truly sacred obligation that the government has is to pair those we send into harm's way and care for them and their families when they come home and when they don't come home, that's why my last budget provided va hospitals with additional funding for more doctors, nurses and equipment to accommodate the needs of veterans and more appointments. The House Republican plan would have met 30 fewer million va health care visits for our veterans. We didn't let that happen. In addition, this bill fully funds the bipartisan Pact Act. The most significant law in decades for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits and for their families expands access to those veterans and their families, to health care and to disability benefits. Look, we're investing in America in our people and in our future, we've created over 13 million new jobs. Nearly 800,000 manufacturing jobs. Where is it? Written? And America can't lead the world again. In manufacturing, unemployment is at 3.7% more Americans are working today than ever in the history of this country. And inflation has dropped 10 straight months in *** row. In this debate, I refused to put what was responsible for all this economic progress on the chopping block. This bipartisan agreement protects the law that will help us build the best infrastructure in the world, fully protects the Chips and Science Act, which is gonna bring key parts of our supply chain to America. So we don't have to rely on others like semiconductors, those tiny computer chips smaller than the tip of your finger that affect nearly everything we rely on from cell phones to have building automobiles to the most sophisticated weapon systems. And so much more, we protected another law that I passed and signed last year that finally beat Big Pharma, which I've been trying to do for over 30 years. It finally gives Medicare the power to negotiate lower drug prices just like the VA has been able to do for veterans. This law has already dramatically cut the cost of insulin for seniors from as much as $400 *** month to just $35 *** month for insulin negotiating lower drug prices, not only saves seniors *** lot of money, it saves the country, *** lot of money, 100 and $60 billion. That's not having to be paid out because we're drug prices are more rational. We pay the highest drug prices of any industrial nation in the world. And it's just the beginning, you know, we also protected the most significant breakthrough ever ever in dealing with the existential threat of climate change. Today, new wind and solar power is cheaper than fossil fuel since I've been in office, clean energy and advanced manufacturing have brought in $470 billion in private investment that's going to create thousands of jobs, good paying jobs all across this country and help the environment. At the same time. Remember at the beginning of this debate, some of our Republican colleagues were determined to gut the clean energy investments. I said, no, we kept them all and there's more and there's so much more to do. We're going to do even more to reduce the deficit. We need to control spending if we're going to do that. But we also have to raise revenue and go after tax sheets and make sure everybody is paying their fair share. No one, I promise no one making more, less than $400,000 *** year will pay *** penny more in federal taxes. But like most of you at home, I know the federal tax system isn't fair. That's why I kept my commitment again that no one earning less than $400,000 *** year will pay *** penny more in federal taxes. That's why last year I secured more funding to go more IRS funding to go after wealthy tax cheats the nonpartisan congressional budget office and it is nonpartisan says that this bill will bring in 100 and $50 billion and other outside experts expect that it would save as much as $400 billion because it's forcing people to pay their fair share. Republicans may not like it, but I'm gonna make sure the wealthy pay their fair share. I'm also proposed closing over *** dozen special interest tax loopholes for big oil crypto traders, hedge fund billionaires saving taxpayers billions of dollars. Republi Republicans defended every single one of these special interest loopholes, every single one. But I'm going to be coming back and with your help, I'm gonna win right now. Catch this right now. The average billionaire in America pays just 8% in federal taxes. 8% teachers and firefighters pay more than that. That's why I proposed *** minimum tax for billionaires. Republicans are against it, but I'm gonna keep fighting for it. No billionaire should pay less in federal taxes than the teacher or firefighter. Look, let me close with this. I know bipartisanship is hard and unity is hard, but we can never stop trying because in moments like this one, the ones we just faced where the American economy and the world economy is at risk of collapsing. There's no other way, no matter how tough our politics gets, we need to see each other as not as adversaries, but as fellow Americans treat each other with dignity and respect to join forces as Americans to stop shouting lower the temperature and work together to pursue progress, secure prosperity and keep the promise of America for everybody. As I've said, my inaugural address without unity, there is no peace, only bitterness and, and fury and we can never become that country. I can honestly say, I can honestly say to you tonight that I've never been more optimistic about America's future. We just need to remember who we are. We are the United States of America and there's nothing, nothing we can't do when we do it together. Well, thank you all for listening, taking the time tonight to listen to me. May God bless you all and may God protect our troops. Thank you.

President Joe Biden is expected to sign legislation on Saturday to raise the debt ceiling, just two days before the U.S. Treasury warned that the country would struggle to pay its bills.The bipartisan measure, which was approved this week by the House and Senate, eliminates the potential for an unprecedented government default.“Passing this budget agreement was critical. The stakes could not have been higher," Biden said from the Oval Office on Friday evening. “Nothing would have been more catastrophic,” he said, than defaulting on the country's debt.The agreement was hashed out by Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, giving Republicans some of their demanded federal spending cuts but holding the line on major Democratic priorities. It raises the debt limit until 2025 — after the 2024 presidential election — and gives legislators budget targets for the next two years in hopes of assuring fiscal stability as the political season heats up.“No one got everything they wanted but the American people got what they needed,” Biden said, highlighting the “compromise and consensus” in the deal. “We averted an economic crisis and an economic collapse.”Video below: A closer look at the debt ceiling billBiden used the opportunity to itemize the achievements of his first term as he runs for reelection, including support for high-tech manufacturing, infrastructure investments and financial incentives for fighting climate change. He also highlighted ways he blunted Republican efforts to roll back his agenda and achieve deeper cuts.“We’re cutting spending and bringing deficits down at the same time,” Biden said. “We're protecting important priorities from Social Security to Medicare to Medicaid to veterans to our transformational investments in infrastructure and clean energy.”Even as he pledged to continue working with Republicans, Biden also drew contrasts with the opposing party, particularly when it comes to raising taxes on the wealthy, something the Democratic president has sought.It’s something he suggested may need to wait until a second term.“I’m going to be coming back,” he said. “With your help, I’m going to win.”Biden's remarks were the most detailed comments from the Democratic president on the compromise he and his staff negotiated. He largely remained quiet publicly during the high-stakes talks, a decision that frustrated some members of his party but was intended to give space for both sides to reach a deal and for lawmakers to vote it to his desk.Biden praised McCarthy and his negotiators for operating in good faith, and all congressional leaders for ensuring swift passage of the legislation. “They acted responsibly, and put the good of the country ahead of politics,” he said.Overall, the 99-page bill restricts spending for the next two years and changes some policies, including imposing new work requirements for older Americans receiving food aid and greenlighting an Appalachian natural gas pipeline that many Democrats oppose. Some environmental rules were modified to help streamline approvals for infrastructure and energy projects — a move long sought by moderates in Congress.The Congressional Budget Office estimates it could actually expand total eligibility for federal food assistance, with the elimination of work requirements for veterans, homeless people and young people leaving foster care.The legislation also bolsters funds for defense and veterans, cuts back some new money for the Internal Revenue Service and rejects Biden’s call to roll back Trump-era tax breaks on corporations and the wealthy to help cover the nation’s deficits. But the White House said the IRS' plans to step up enforcement of tax laws for high-income earners and corporations would continue.The agreement imposes an automatic overall 1% cut to spending programs if Congress fails to approve its annual spending bills — a measure designed to pressure lawmakers of both parties to reach consensus before the end of the fiscal year in September.In both chambers, more Democrats backed the legislation than Republicans, but both parties were critical to its passage. In the Senate the tally was 63-36 including 46 Democrats and independents and 17 Republicans in favor, 31 Republicans along with four Democrats and one independent who caucuses with the Democrats opposed.The vote in the House was 314-117.___AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON —

President Joe Biden is expected to sign legislation on Saturday to raise the debt ceiling, just two days before the U.S. Treasury warned that the country would struggle to pay its bills.

The bipartisan measure, which was approved this week by the House and Senate, eliminates the potential for an unprecedented government default.

“Passing this budget agreement was critical. The stakes could not have been higher," Biden said from the Oval Office on Friday evening. “Nothing would have been more catastrophic,” he said, than defaulting on the country's debt.

The agreement was hashed out by Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, giving Republicans some of their demanded federal spending cuts but holding the line on major Democratic priorities. It raises the debt limit until 2025 — after the 2024 presidential election — and gives legislators budget targets for the next two years in hopes of assuring fiscal stability as the political season heats up.

“No one got everything they wanted but the American people got what they needed,” Biden said, highlighting the “compromise and consensus” in the deal. “We averted an economic crisis and an economic collapse.”

Video below: A closer look at the debt ceiling bill

Biden used the opportunity to itemize the achievements of his first term as he runs for reelection, including support for high-tech manufacturing, infrastructure investments and financial incentives for fighting climate change. He also highlighted ways he blunted Republican efforts to roll back his agenda and achieve deeper cuts.

“We’re cutting spending and bringing deficits down at the same time,” Biden said. “We're protecting important priorities from Social Security to Medicare to Medicaid to veterans to our transformational investments in infrastructure and clean energy.”

Even as he pledged to continue working with Republicans, Biden also drew contrasts with the opposing party, particularly when it comes to raising taxes on the wealthy, something the Democratic president has sought.

It’s something he suggested may need to wait until a second term.

“I’m going to be coming back,” he said. “With your help, I’m going to win.”

Biden's remarks were the most detailed comments from the Democratic president on the compromise he and his staff negotiated. He largely remained quiet publicly during the high-stakes talks, a decision that frustrated some members of his party but was intended to give space for both sides to reach a deal and for lawmakers to vote it to his desk.

Biden praised McCarthy and his negotiators for operating in good faith, and all congressional leaders for ensuring swift passage of the legislation. “They acted responsibly, and put the good of the country ahead of politics,” he said.

Overall, the 99-page bill restricts spending for the next two years and changes some policies, including imposing new work requirements for older Americans receiving food aid and greenlighting an Appalachian natural gas pipeline that many Democrats oppose. Some environmental rules were modified to help streamline approvals for infrastructure and energy projects — a move long sought by moderates in Congress.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates it could actually expand total eligibility for federal food assistance, with the elimination of work requirements for veterans, homeless people and young people leaving foster care.

The legislation also bolsters funds for defense and veterans, cuts back some new money for the Internal Revenue Service and rejects Biden’s call to roll back Trump-era tax breaks on corporations and the wealthy to help cover the nation’s deficits. But the White House said the IRS' plans to step up enforcement of tax laws for high-income earners and corporations would continue.

The agreement imposes an automatic overall 1% cut to spending programs if Congress fails to approve its annual spending bills — a measure designed to pressure lawmakers of both parties to reach consensus before the end of the fiscal year in September.

In both chambers, more Democrats backed the legislation than Republicans, but both parties were critical to its passage. In the Senate the tally was 63-36 including 46 Democrats and independents and 17 Republicans in favor, 31 Republicans along with four Democrats and one independent who caucuses with the Democrats opposed.

The vote in the House was 314-117.

___

AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.