Another hurdle to averting US insolvency has been cleared: a majority in the House of Representatives voted to suspend the debt ceiling for the time being. Now only the Senate has to agree.
The US House of Representatives has approved the last-minute bill aimed at averting a US default. A majority of lawmakers in the Congress Chamber on Wednesday evening (local time) voted in favor of the bill, which would suspend the US debt ceiling until 2025 while significantly curbing planned government spending over the next two years.
In order for the US government not to run out of money, after the House of Representatives, the Senate must also approve the project and President Joe Biden must sign the law. The time pressure is great: US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently warned that insolvency could occur on June 5th – that is, as early as next Monday.
Biden’s administration and the Republicans, who have a narrow majority in the House of Representatives, had been struggling to find a cross-party compromise in long and difficult negotiations in recent weeks. Many politicians in both Biden’s Democrats and Republicans are dissatisfied with the result, especially on the left and right fringes of both parties. However, in view of the looming US government default, which could trigger a financial and economic crisis with global consequences, MPs from the center of both parties rallied behind the deal and thus ensured the necessary majority for the vote.
314 members voted in favor of the bill in the House of Representatives, including 149 Republicans and 165 Democrats. The leaders in the Senate have promised to bring the draft to a vote there as soon as possible.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
