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Washington – The House on Tuesday passed a short-term government funding bill that includes a provision to suspend the debt ceiling and allocate billions of dollars to Afghan refugee resettlement efforts and disaster relief in the aftermath of recent hurricanes and forest fires.
The measure, the text of which was released earlier on Tuesday, cleared the House in a party line vote of 220 to 211. It is now heading to the Senate, where Republicans have vowed to oppose the package. .
The 93-page bill, known as the Continuing Resolution, maintains current federal funding levels until December 3 and includes a suspension of the debt limit until December 16, 2022. If passed through the House and the Senate, lawmakers would avoid two fiscal crises that they are. in the coming weeks: a partial government shutdown and default on the nation’s debts, which officials in the Biden administration have warned would have catastrophic economic consequences.
But approval by the upper house appears to face a long chance, as GOP senators have said any action to raise or suspend the debt limit must be taken by Democrats alone, especially since ‘They are preparing to usher in Congress a massive $ 3.5 trillion social spending program that is a cornerstone of President Biden’s economic agenda.
Because Democrats only control 50 Senate seats, they would need the support of at least 10 Republicans to move the short-term funding bill to the upper house.
The bill passed by the House also provides $ 28.6 billion in disaster assistance to deal with recent hurricanes, wildfires and droughts, as well as other natural disasters, and 6.3 billion dollars to support relocation efforts Afghans who fled Kabul after the rapid takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban.
“It is essential that Congress passes this legislation swiftly to support essential education, health, housing and public safety programs and to provide emergency assistance to disaster survivors and Afghan evacuees,” the lawmaker said. Rosa DeLauro, a Connecticut Democrat who chairs the House Appropriations Committee. in a report.
As DeLauro unveiled the bill on Tuesday morning, she was forced to present a revised version after progressive lawmakers opposed a $ 1 billion provision for Israel’s Iron Dome defense system. The funding was eventually pulled from the measure amid the retreat of the Progressives, and a spokesperson for the House Appropriations Committee said funding for the Iron Dome would instead be included in a defense appropriations bill.
The House and Senate returned to Washington on Monday after a hiatus of several weeks and immediately faced a long list of legislative tasks and deadlines which are fast approaching.
Government funding is set to expire on September 30, and Congress’ failure to approve a funding bill to pass by the end of the month will result in a partial government shutdown as the country continues to fight the coronavirus pandemic .
The Treasury Department also believes that the federal government’s borrowing authority will expire in October and that congressional inaction would cause the United States to default on its debts, the Biden administration has warned.
Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Monday that the short-term funding measure would include a suspension of the debt ceiling and said a vote to suspend or increase the debt ceiling should be bipartite.
But the inclusion of the debt limit suspension is causing a clash with Republicans in the Senate as the deadlines for Congress to extend government funding and prevent the United States from defaulting on its debts draw closer. Senatorial Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has repeatedly said Democrats will not get Republicans’ help to raise the debt ceiling.
“The debt ceiling will be raised as it should always be, but it will be raised by the Democrats,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
McConnell said Senate Republicans would support an ongoing resolution that included disaster relief for Louisiana, which has been hit hard in recent weeks by hurricanes, and funds for the Iron Dome.
On the House side, Louisiana Minority Whip Steve Scalise rallied Republicans to vote against the legislation with the suspension of the debt limit included, a person familiar with the plans confirmed to CBS News.
Zak Hudak contributed reporting.
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