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US House to hold final vote on raising debt ceiling ahead of default deadline US House passes bill to raise debt ceiling just days before default
(about 4 hours later)
Vote expected to be held at 8:30pm ET and if passed would move next to the Senate for quick approval to protect US from default With 149 Republicans and 165 Democrats supporting the measure, Biden has called on the Senate to quickly take up the legislation
The House is set to hold its final vote on raising the debt ceiling Wednesday, as leaders of both parties expressed confidence they will soon clear a major legislative hurdle with just days left before the US is expected to default. The House passed a bill to raise the debt ceiling on Wednesday, clearing a major legislative hurdle with just days left before the US is expected to default.
Arriving at the Capitol Wednesday morning, the House Republican speaker, Kevin McCarthy, told reporters that he felt “good” about the upcoming vote, expected to be held at 8:30pm that day. Asked for his message to House Republicans, McCarthy encouraged them to support the bill, describing it as “the first step to change the way we spend money”. The final House vote was 314 to 117, with 149 Republicans and 165 Democrats supporting the measure. In a potentially worrisome sign for the House Republican speaker, Kevin McCarthy, 71 members of his conference opposed the deal that he brokered with President Joe Biden.
Joe Biden predicted that the House will have passed the bill by Wednesday night, when he is scheduled to land in Colorado Springs, Colorado, ahead of his commencement address at the US Air Force Academy on Thursday. Taking a victory lap after the bill’s passage, McCarthy downplayed concerns over divisions within the House Republican conference and celebrated the policy concessions he secured in his negotiations with Biden.
“We are going to deal with the debt ceiling,” Biden said. “I think things are going as planned, God willing.” “I have been thinking about this day before my vote for speaker because I knew the debt ceiling was coming. And I wanted to make history. I wanted to do something no other Congress has done,” McCarthy told reporters after the vote. “Tonight, we all made history.”
Despite leaders’ assurances that the bill would pass, members of the hard-right House freedom caucus injected some drama into the day’s proceedings by opposing a procedural motion prior to the final vote. With 29 Republicans voting against the motion, McCarthy had to rely on Democratic assistance to advance the debt ceiling proposal. In the end, 52 Democrats voted for the motion, setting up the final vote and virtually ensuring the bill’s passage. Biden applauded the House passage of the legislation, calling on the Senate to quickly take up the legislation to avoid a default. The treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, has warned that the federal government will be unable to pay its bills starting 5 June unless the debt ceiling is raised.
If the bill passes the House, it will be taken up by the Senate, which will need to approve the legislation quickly to protect the US from a potentially disastrous default. The treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, has warned that the federal government will be unable to pay its bills starting 5 June unless the debt ceiling is raised. “This budget agreement is a bipartisan compromise. Neither side got everything it wanted,” Biden said in a statement. “I have been clear that the only path forward is a bipartisan compromise that can earn the support of both parties. This agreement meets that test.”
The debt ceiling bill would raise the government’s borrowing limit until January 2025, ensuring the issue will not resurface before the next presidential election. As part of his negotiations with Biden, McCarthy successfully pushed for government spending cuts and changes to the work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The debt ceiling bill passed by the House would raise the government’s borrowing limit until January 2025, ensuring the issue will not resurface before the next presidential election. As part of his negotiations with Biden, McCarthy successfully pushed for government spending cuts and changes to the work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
However, the concessions that McCarthy won fell far short for members of the freedom caucus, who had pushed for steeper spending cuts and much stricter work requirements for benefits programs. House freedom caucus members attempted Tuesday to block the bill from reaching the floor, but their efforts were unsuccessful. Dozens of the caucus’ members were expected to oppose the bill when it comes up for a final vote. However, the concessions that McCarthy won fell far short for members of the freedom caucus, who had pushed for steeper spending cuts and much stricter work requirements for benefits programs. They belittled the debt ceiling compromise as a paltry effort to tackle the nation’s debt, which stands at more than $31tn.
Representative Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, chair of the freedom caucus, said on Twitter before the vote, “President Biden is happily sending Americans over yet another fiscal cliff, with far too many swampy Republicans behind the wheel of a ‘deal’ that fails miserably to address the real reason for our debt crisis: SPENDING.”Representative Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, chair of the freedom caucus, said on Twitter before the vote, “President Biden is happily sending Americans over yet another fiscal cliff, with far too many swampy Republicans behind the wheel of a ‘deal’ that fails miserably to address the real reason for our debt crisis: SPENDING.”
Even as McCarthy braced for dozens of Republican defections, the bill still appeared set to pass in a bipartisan fashion thanks to many Democrats’ support of the legislation. The House Democratic leader, Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, said Wednesday morning that he planned to vote “yes” on the proposal after thoroughly discussing the debt ceiling deal with the White House and the members of his caucus. House freedom caucus members staged one last attempt to block the debt ceiling bill from advancing on Wednesday afternoon, when they opposed a procedural motion prior to the final vote. With 29 Republicans voting against the motion, McCarthy had to rely on Democratic assistance to advance the debt ceiling proposal. In the end, 52 Democrats voted for the motion, setting up the final vote and virtually ensuring the bill’s passage.
“I support it without hesitation, reservation or trepidation,” Jeffries told reporters. “Not because it’s perfect, but in divided government, we of course cannot allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good. And President Biden did an incredibly good job under difficult circumstances in protecting some key priorities and values for the well-being of the American people.” The House Democratic leader, representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, mocked McCarthy’s failure to unify his party, arguing the procedural vote proved the speaker has “lost control of the floor”.
“It’s an extraordinary act that indicates just the nature of the extremism that is out of control on the other side of the aisle,” Jeffries said during the floor debate before the final vote. “Extreme Maga Republicans attempted to take control of the House floor. Democrats took it back for the American people.”
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But dozens of progressive lawmakers, including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, indicated they would not support the bill, even as they emphasized the crucial importance of avoiding a federal default. Progressives attacked the spending cuts and new work requirements procured by McCarthy as an affront to the voters who elected them. Despite his sharp criticism of McCarthy and his Republican colleagues, Jeffries and the majority of the House Democratic caucus supported the debt ceiling bill. Although they lamented the spending cuts included in the bill, those Democrats argued the crucial importance of avoiding a default outweighed their personal concerns about the legislation.
“The debt ceiling agreement will cause millions of Americans to suffer so Republicans can score political points,” said Representative Ro Khanna of California. “This is not a deal that upholds progressive values. It increases spending for defense and limits the pot of money for everything else. I urge my colleagues to consider the impact this will have in concrete, practical terms.” “Our constitution makes perfectly clear the validity of the public debt of the United States shall not be questioned,” said California representative Nancy Pelosi, the former Democratic House speaker. “While I find this legislation objectionable, it will avert an unprecedented default, which would bring devastation to America’s families.”
Although the bill has received criticism from both ends of the political spectrum, it still appears likely to become law. The Senate Democratic majority leader, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, has pledged to act swiftly to take up the bill once it has passed the House. The Senate Republican minority leader, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, has already indicated he plans to support the proposal as well. But dozens of progressive lawmakers opposed the bill, attacking the spending cuts and new work requirements procured by McCarthy as an affront to the voters who elected them.
“Republicans never cared about reducing the deficit, only about forcing through their anti-working family policy priorities under the threat of a catastrophic default,” said Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. “The deal they passed tonight proves that point, and I could not be part of their extortion scheme.”
Progressives in the Senate, including Senator Bernie Sanders, have echoed that criticism and indicated they plan to oppose the debt ceiling proposal, but the bill still appears likely to become law. The Senate Democratic majority leader, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, has pledged to act swiftly to take up the bill once it has passed the House. The Senate Republican minority leader, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, has already indicated he plans to support the proposal as well.
“Any needless delay, any last-minute brinksmanship at this point would be an unacceptable risk,” Schumer said in a floor speech Wednesday morning. “Moving quickly, working together to avoid default is the responsible and necessary thing to do.”“Any needless delay, any last-minute brinksmanship at this point would be an unacceptable risk,” Schumer said in a floor speech Wednesday morning. “Moving quickly, working together to avoid default is the responsible and necessary thing to do.”