US debt-limit hike on way to final passage next week

The measure passed on Thursday by a 59-34 vote and now goes to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature.

The bill empowers the Democratic majority to raise the nation’s borrowing limit in a separate law without the threat of a GOP filibuster.

The amount of the increase has not been announced, but is likely to cover borrowings in January 2023. No time has been set for a vote on the debt ceiling increase, which can be passed by a simple majority. It will then go to the House, which has set the vote on final passage for Tuesday.

The deal, clearing the way for fast-track authorization, was negotiated between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. It marked an almost face-off for Senate Republicans, who had previously vowed not to cooperate with Democrats on raising the debt limit.

Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, one of 10 Republicans who voted for the bill, said earlier on Thursday, “It was the right thing to do because this is the last thing this country needs in the world.” “And so we’ve established a process to avoid default. It’s not ideal, but it allows us to avoid the disaster that could come if we missed it.”

The process of raising the loan limit was linked to legislation that repeals automatic deductions in Medicare, farm subsidies and other programs that began with deficit spending earlier this year under the so-called Pego law.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned the government could hit debt limits after December 15 and have difficulty meeting its obligations, though outside analysts have said the government has a little more time. The House plans to pass the actual loan limit increase on December 14.

talks

Congress added $480 billion to the US debt limit in October after weeks of turmoil in financial markets. Republicans demanded that Democrats use their slim majority in both houses to approve an increase in the debt limit using the budget process. was designed to disrupt.

McConnell eventually proposed and proposed a short-term increase approved in October. Eleven Republicans joined Democrats to pave the way for the floor vote. At the time, McConnell vowed it would be the last time Republicans would come to the aid of Democrats on debt limits.

But McConnell began discussions with Schumer in November on whether to pursue the next increase. On Tuesday, the two said they had agreed to an outright procedural maneuver that could result in a higher loan limit this weekend or early next week. Schumer declared that “Democrats would bear the burden of voting for it”.

“I think it’s in the best interest of the country,” McConnell said of his agreement, adding that it was “in the best interest of Republicans.”

The settlement allowed Republicans to cast a “no” vote on raising the debt limit, while default was averted. It comes a week after McConnell and Schumer agree on a stop-gap spending bill that extends current agency spending levels to February 18, averting a government lockdown.

Republican Resistance

Everyone in the House except one Republican voted against the agreement, and some GOP senators were critical of the approach. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, the longest-serving current GOP senator, said “it’s a gimmick to get around the filibuster” that could lead to other attempts to bypass the minority party on debt ceiling increases.

“I think it’s a bad precedent,” Grassley said on Bloomberg Television’s “Balance of Power” program.

McConnell’s aides say GOP leaders are looking forward to next year’s midterm elections and are more interested in focusing on Biden’s low approval rating and rising inflation crippling household budgets across the country.

In addition to McConnell and Murkowski, eight other Republican senators voted with Democrats for the bill: John Barrasso of Wyoming, Roy Blunt of Missouri, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Susan Collins of Maine, Rob Portman of Ohio, Mitt of Utah. Romney. John Thune of South Dakota and Thom Tillis of North Carolina.

Four other Republicans previously voted to advance the law but voted against it on the floor: Richard Burr of North Carolina, Roger Wicker of Mississippi, John Cornyn of Texas and Joni Ernst of Iowa.