Maine U.S. Sen. Angus King said he's hopeful an agreement will be reached on the federal debt ceiling on Friday, and said a default would be "catastrophic" for the U.S. and world economies.
The independent senator declined to say what concessions should be made to reach an agreement. He argued the whole negotiation was unnecessary and should be saved for actual budget discussions.
But this is not the place, the time the place to have this kind of discussion," King said. "This is about paying bills we've already incurred. This isn't about future spending. That's one of the problems with this discussion.".
King said any agreement that is hammered out will have to be quickly drafted to pass both chambers.
The U.S. is projected to run out of money to pay its bills on June 1. Congress will have to vote on a debt ceiling proposal before then to avoid a default.
