Senate Approves Deal Raising Debt Ceiling, Averting U.S. Default
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The Senate passed wide-ranging legislation Thursday that suspends the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling while cutting federal spending, backing a bipartisan deal struck by President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to avert an unprecedented U.S. default.
The 63-36 vote reflected support from both Democrats and Republicans, with backers saying the need to raise the nation’s borrowing limit outweighed concern about provisions related to military and domestic spending and energy policy, among other contentious issues.
The measure now goes to the president for his signature with several days to spare before June 5…
Democrats accused Republicans of irresponsibly using the prospect of default to extort concessions, while Republicans countered that the nation’s growing debt called for decisive action, while also ruling out new taxes proposed by Biden.
The bill, the Fiscal Responsibility Act, would suspend the debt ceiling through Jan. 1, 2025, pushing the issue beyond the 2024 elections, in exchange for trims for unspecified domestic programs and a 3% cap on increases for military spending in fiscal 2024. It would provide $45 billion for a recently created program expanding coverage for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits, formally end a three-year freeze on student-loan payments, expedite large-scale energy and infrastructure projects, and raise to 54 the age at which able-bodied, low-income adults without dependents must work to receive food aid.
It doesn’t touch major programs such as Medicare and Social Security, showing how lawmakers are reluctant to address the biggest drivers of U.S. debt…
The deal largely protects Biden’s legislative achievements of last year, with Republicans having little success in using the debt ceiling to dismantle his climate, tax and health law, the Inflation Reduction Act. But it also allows Republicans to point to spending cuts, given that spending caps are enforceable for fiscal years 2024 and 2025, and the party succeeded in clawing back some funding for the Internal Revenue Service and unspent Covid-19 money.
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