The law does not provide for a new currency cap, but the borrowing power would be extended until January 2, 2025, two months after next year’s presidential election.
The US Senate voted 63 to 36 Thursday night on a measure that would allow the country to avoid defaulting on its debt. The United States was on track to run out of cash within four days. The bipartisan bill now goes to President Joe Biden for signature.
“Tonight, senators from both parties voted to protect our hard-won economic progress and prevent America’s first default,” Biden said in a statement.
The House of Representatives on Wednesday night, with broad support from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, voted overwhelmingly to allow the government to continue borrowing more money to meet its financial obligations over the next year and a half, exceeding the current debt ceiling of 31.4 trillion dollars dollars.
The law does not provide for a new currency cap, but the borrowing power would be extended until January 2, 2025, two months after next year’s presidential election.
In this image from Senate Television, the final 63-36 vote to pass the debt ceiling bill Thursday evening, June 1, 2023, in the Senate on Capitol Hill in Washington.
In addition, the legislation requires most federal spending to remain at current levels for the fiscal year beginning in October and increase by 1% over the next 12 months.
“The responsibility of the United States is to pass it,” Senate leader Democrat Dick Durbin told reporters.
Both Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell supported the suspension of the debt limit and called for the law to pass quickly.
Schumer told the Senate, “Time is a luxury the Senate doesn’t have if we’re going to avoid a default.” There’s no good reason, none at all, for this process to go through. … I hope we don’t see anything remotely remote from a risky endeavor. The country cannot afford that now.”
The House of Representatives passed the bill by a vote of 314 to 117, despite objections from far-right Republican lawmakers who said it didn’t go far enough to cut spending and progressive Democrats who said it was cut too much.
71 members of the majority Republican party in the House of Representatives voted against the bill, as did 46 Democrats.
In a statement after Wednesday’s vote, Biden hailed the deal as a “bipartisan compromise.”
“It protects the key priorities and achievements of the past two years, including historic investments that create good jobs across the country,” Biden said. “And it recognizes my commitment to protecting Americans’ healthcare and protecting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.” [pensiones y seguro de atención médica para estadounidenses mayores y pagos de asistencia social para personas empobrecidas]. It protects critical programs that millions of working families, students and veterans count on.”
Also Read: US Debt Ceiling Agreement Approved by House of Representatives
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican who brokered the deal with Biden, told reporters that passing the bill was “no easy fight.” He emphasized fiscal austerity and criticized Democrats for trying to separate the debate on future public spending from the need to suspend the debt ceiling to meet current financial commitments.
“We put the people of the United States first and didn’t do that by taking the easy way out,” McCarthy said. “We didn’t do it like people used to do, just lifting weights [el techo de la deuda]. We decided that you need to spend less and we achieved that goal.”
McCarthy said he intends to continue Wednesday’s measures with further efforts to cut federal spending.
The measure will not increase taxes, nor will it prevent the total national debt from rising further, perhaps by another $3 trillion or more over the next year and a half until the next debt ceiling expires.
Other legislation includes reducing the number of new agents hired by the country’s tax collection agency, requiring states to return $30 billion in unspent coronavirus pandemic aid to the federal government, and setting the upper age bracket for those who be forced to work The deadline for receiving food aid is extended from 50 to 54 years.
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