Close to Deadline, US Congress Passes Debt Ceiling Bill

By Staff, Agencies

US lawmakers voted late Wednesday night to suspend the debt ceiling through 2024 and slightly cut government spending next year, as part of the deal reached by President Joe Biden and Republican leadership in Congress.

“Passing the Fiscal Responsibility Act is a crucial first step for putting America back on track,” said US Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, “it does what is responsible for our children, what is possible in divided government, and what is required by our principles and promises."

Biden hailed the 314-117 vote as a “critical step” in the country's post-pandemic economic recovery, that was achieved with “bipartisan compromise,” and averted a catastrophic default. The legislation is now passed to the Senate, who are expected to vote on it by the end of the week.

“The consequences of slipping past the deadline would reverberate across the world and take years to recover from,” Chuck Schumer, leader of the Democratic-led Senate, “remember, a default would almost certainly trigger another recession, send costs soaring, kill millions of jobs.”

McCarthy and his team had to exert great efforts to whip party votes, even Democrats struggled with a view dissenting voices that refused to compromise, but in the end, the Republican majority in the house was able to get the bi-partisan vote required, and fend off a disaster-seeking rebellion.

The president’s economic advisers estimated that if the US stopped honoring its financial obligations, it could have lost more than 8 million jobs already this summer and see its gross domestic product plunge by 6 percent.