On Wednesday night, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass a debt ceiling agreement negotiated by president Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The much anticipated legislation comes as the U.S. nears the June 5th deadline in which the government would run out of money. In total, the bill passed 314-117 with 71 Republicans and 46 Democrats voting against it.
According to Fox:
McCarthy, R-Calif., touted the bill’s spending cuts even though it fell short of conservatives’ original aim of slashing spending by roughly $150 billion from this year to the next.
“Tonight we’re going to do something we haven’t done before,” McCarthy said. “Tonight, we are going to vote for the largest savings in American history – over $2.1 trillion. That’s what we’re voting for. Every great nation that has overextended itself has collapsed.”
Democrats took credit for helping get the bill across the finish line. Earlier in the day, 52 Democrats made the rare move of voting with Republicans in a procedural vote to keep the bill alive.
The House vote sends the bill to the Senate, where Majority Leader Chuck Schumer promised earlier in the day it would hit the floor “as soon as possible.” That vote is expected to take place this week, barring any objections from senators to moving quickly.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has stated multiple times that Congress would need to either raise or suspend the debt limit by June 5th in order to avoid default.
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