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The Senate approved the short-term extension of the debt ceiling in a 50-48 vote. The measure now goes to the House, which is expected to be brought back next week for a vote.
The bill increases the debt limit by $ 480 million until December and avoids a default, ending a weeks-long standoff between Democrats and Republicans as time elapsed towards the deadline of October 18.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced earlier Wednesday that a deal had been reached with the Republicans. Eleven Republicans joined with all Democrats in voting to end debate, avoiding an obstruction and clearing it for the final pass soon after.
“We have come to an agreement to extend the debt ceiling until December. And we hope to be able to do so today,” Schumer said earlier Wednesday.
The deal, according to a Senate aide, is to raise $ 480 billion, which is needed to allow the Treasury to continue paying the bills until Dec. 3.
Republicans had blocked the efforts of the Democrats to suspend the debt ceiling with a simple majority vote in the Senate, which means they would have needed 60 votes, which they did not have. GOP lawmakers have been pressuring Democrats since July to instead use the budget reconciliation process to raise the debt ceiling without Republican support.
But on Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell turned the tide, offering Democrats a way to briefly raise the debt limit without the threat of Republican obstruction and prevent the nation from defaulting for the first time. times in its history.
“The Senate is moving forward with the plan I presented yesterday to spare the American people from a fabricated crisis,” McConnell said on the floor Thursday morning. He said the plan resolves Democrats’ excuse that they are running out of time to address the debt limit through the reconciliation process, saying that “now there will be no more questions, they will have everything. time”.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned that the Treasury will exhaust so-called “extraordinary measures” used to pay bills if Congress does not act to increase the debt limit by October 18. She said it would have catastrophic consequences for the economy and Americans at home, pushing the United States back into recession.
On Wednesday, the White House said it would prefer Congress to address the debt ceiling now so it can move on to other business.
When asked in Chicago if he would sign the deal in the short term, President Biden appeared to say, “We have to see if the deal is done. I’m not sure yet.”
Under the deal struck Thursday, if lawmakers don’t use the next few months to settle the long-term debt ceiling, they could end up in December where they left at the end of September amid the threat of default for the second time this year. as well as a government shutdown. Last month, Congress also passed a short-term spending deal to keep the government running until December while Democrats work on their broader reconciliation plan.
Jack Turman contributed reporting
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