The United States House of Representatives approved this Wednesday, May 31, the bill that suspends the debt ceiling of 31.4 trillion dollars. Now, it will pass into the hands of the Senate, with a Democratic majority, which will have to give it the green light so that it reaches the hands of President Joe Biden before being enacted.
First modification:
One more step. With strong divisions, the United States House of Representatives approved the bill reached between the White House and the Republicans, to suspend the debt ceiling of 31.4 trillion dollars and avoid a catastrophic default for the global economy.
The bipartisan bill passed the test in a vote in the Republican-controlled US House, which voted 314-117 to pass the legislation to the Senate, which should sign it into law and pass it on to President Joe Biden for his signature before the Monday June 5, the date that the Treasury of that country stipulated for the federal government to stop paying its bills.
The measure, the product of weeks-long negotiations between President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, was opposed by 71 hardline Republicans, but 165 Democrats backed the measure and pushed through it.
Republicans control the House by a narrow 222-213 majority.
Biden welcomed the passage of the bill and urged the Senate to “pass it as soon as possible” so he can sign it into law. “This agreement is good news for the American people and economy,” the White House said.
The legislation temporarily suspends the federal government’s borrowing limit until January 1, 2025, allowing Biden to dodge the complex political discussion until after the November 2024 presidential election.
The bill would cap some public spending over the next two years, speed up the permitting process for certain energy projects, and expand work requirements for food aid programs to new recipients, the latter introduced by Republicans during the bargain. . All in order to avoid default.
Although for many hardline Republicans the cuts are not enough. “At best, we have a two-year spending freeze full of loopholes and gimmicks,” reacted Chip Roy, a leading member of the House Freedom Caucus hardline group.
“Republicans are forcing us to decide which vulnerable Americans can eat or they’ll set us up for default. It’s just wrong,” according to Democrat Jim McGovern.
The Congressional Budget Office said the legislation would save $1.5 trillion over a decade, compared with the $4.8 trillion in savings Republicans were aiming for and also below the $3 trillion in savings deficit that Biden’s budget would have reduced in that period through new taxes.
The bill would now face opposition in the Senate, where Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell could support some pending Republican amendments. All of this, yes, must happen in the next few hours, if they want to avoid what Mark Zandi, Moody’s Analytics economist, classified as a “true cataclysm”.
With Router and AP
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