The House of Representatives, in a big vote, has passed a debt ceiling bill just days before a predicted June 5 default.
The margin of the vote caught many by surprise, with 165 Democrats and 149 Republicans supporting legislation that will extend the debt limit for another two years.
The measure also puts in place a two-year budget agreement.
In comments after the vote, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy remarked: “You are getting so many wins for the American people in this bill.”
McCarthy added that the legislation does not mean an increase in federal spending: “There’s no new government programs. There’s no tax increases. There’s nothing in the bill that you really should be negative about.”
The measure suspending the federal government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling is now on its way to the U.S. Senate. Although President Biden and Democrat leaders in the upper chamber have called for action to avert a potentially cataclysmic default on the nation’s debt, the obstacles remain formidable.
Because it’s a revenue measure, the bill must get at least 60 votes before winning approval in the Senate.
As now proposed, the legislation will suspend the U.S. debt ceiling up to the first day of 2025. With that date intact, both President Biden and Congressional leaders will presumably have more leeway to tackle additional thorny budget reduction issues.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has repeatedly warned if the debt limit is not raised by June 5, the federal government would be put in the historic position of having to default on various obligations.
In a separate but related development, the U.S. Congressional Budget Office issued a new report predicting that if the current debt ceiling bill before Congress is approved, it could reduce the federal government’s projected deficit by around $1.5 trillion between now and 2033.
In a letter sent to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the CBO also forecast that the “interest on the public debt would decline by $188 billion.”
A large group of Republican lawmakers in the House opposed the legislation saying it failed to increase the work requirements for a federal food aid program.
Democrats, on the other hand, expressed frustration regarding environmental as well as defense spending matters.
Washington Democrat Representative Pramila Jayapal told the publication Axios: “I do think it’s important that we put up a very strong ‘no’ vote and that we don’t give them one more vote than what they need.”
New Mexico Democrat Representative Gabe Vasquez earlier announced that he would support the debt ceiling bill “that will keep our Social Security benefits intact,” while Arizona Republican Andy Biggs, in his weekly newsletter, cast doubts on the arguments being used to support a debt limit bill.
Questioning how Secretary Yellen has forecast a June 5 default deadline, Biggs remarked that Congress should not be forced “into cutting a deal that doesn’t serve our interests.”
By Garry Boulard
