Biden: ‘It’s never a good bet to bet against America’

The United States averted an unprecedented crisis after the US Senate passed on Thursday the “Fiscal Responsibility Act” that suspended the debt ceiling to 2025, a day after the House of Representatives passed the measure.

The passage of the bill, which received strong bipartisan support, came just a few days before the June 5 deadline set by US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who implored legislators to swiftly act before the United States runs out of money to pay for its debt and other financial obligations, which could lead to a potentially catastrophic default because of its global impact. 

Created by the US Congress in 1917 under the Second Liberty Bond Act, the debt ceiling sets the limit on the amount of money that the US government can borrow to pay for its bills and other obligations, among them payment for federal employees, the military, Social Security, Medicare, interests on national debt and others. Under the compromise bill – which will be signed by President Biden the minute it reaches his desk – the debt ceiling has been suspended until 2025, allowing the government to borrow more.

It’s evident that the United States continues to face many challenges, among them the situation in the Indo-Pacific region with China’s continuing aggression as demonstrated in a recent incident just last week. According to the account by the US Indo-Pacific Command, a US Air Force RC-135 aircraft was conducting routine operations in international airspace over the South China Sea when a Chinese J-16 jet “performed an unnecessarily aggressive maneuver” in its intercept when it flew “directly in front of the nose of the RC-135, forcing the US aircraft to fly through its wake turbulence.”   

A similar incident was also reported by the US INDOPACOM in December last year when a Chinese J-11 fighter flew in front of and within 20 feet of the nose of an RC-135 reconnaissance plane that was flying over the South China Sea, almost causing a collision, with the American pilot forced to take evasive maneuvers. 

The biggest challenge that the US faces – in fact the whole world – is the war in Ukraine. Since the Russian invasion began in February 2022, the US has led western nations in providing humanitarian, financial and military support for Ukraine. According to the data collected by the Ukraine Support Tracker of the Germany-based Kiel Institute for the World Economy, the US has earmarked over 73.1 billion euros (or more than $78 billion) for Ukraine. A few days ago, the US also announced another $300-million arms package that includes air defense systems and tens of millions of rounds of ammunition with the caveat that these should not be used for attacks inside Russia.

There is absolutely no doubt that US military might continues to be formidable and as strong as ever – as it should be, considering the challenges they are facing worldwide. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) report, the US had a record-high military spending of $877 billion in 2022. In terms of technology, there is no doubt that America is still leading the race, with technologically advanced military equipment continually being developed, many of them being deployed and tested in the Ukraine war.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin recently established the Office of Strategic Capital that would provide long-term financing to US technology companies, including startups engaged in critical technologies considered to be vital to US national security. These include advanced materials, next-generation biotechnology and quantum science. 

“We are in a global competition for leadership in critical technologies, and the Office of Strategic Capital will help us win that competition and build enduring national security advantages,” Secretary Austin said during the launch last December of the OSC, which aims to bridge that critical gap between the laboratory and full-scale production, which is referred to as the “valley of death” in the industry. Secretary Austin said he is determined to give emerging technologies the support they need to develop sophisticated military hardware that would enhance the defense capabilities of the US. 

The US is also at the forefront of artificial intelligence (AI) – considered as the “bold new frontier” of technology – as it dabbles in AI-directed drones or bots that can pilot modified F-16 fighters, thereby lessening the risk or threat to human lives. Last March, for instance, the US Air Force said it would field a “nominal quantity” of 200 Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighters and 1,000 collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) drones that would serve as wingmen that would be operating alongside the piloted NGAD fighters. This development certainly showcases that US technology is still very much superb. 

While some pundits predict that the 2024 US presidential election would be even more divisive than ever, history has shown that no matter how polarized US politics may seem at the moment, at the end of the day, Americans will close ranks to fight any kind of threat. This is evident in their recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic that was faster than any other major economy in the world, and the passage of the debt ceiling bill despite months of acrimony between Republicans and Democrats.  

During his second State of the Union speech in February, President Biden acknowledged that indeed, they “face serious challenges across the world,” but he also emphasized their progress and resilience as a nation and people, emerging from every crisis stronger than when they entered it. 

And the US president issued this warning: “Those who bet against America are learning just how wrong they are. It’s never a good bet to bet against America.”   

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