- Senate lawmakers rush to vote on debt ceiling deal after House overwhelmingly votes in favor of the bill
- The measure easily passed the House with a final vote tally of 314-117 despite opposition from both parties
- Now, the Senate is meeting ahead of a vote that is needed before President Joe Biden can sign the measure into law
The Senate is rushing to vote on the highly controversial debt ceiling deal after the House overwhelmingly passed the bill despite GOP members threatening to block the legislation.
The situation comes as lawmakers only have a few days to spare before the Treasury Department's expected June 5 deadline of a potential government default. The measure surprisingly passed the House easily with a final tally of 314-117 votes despite bipartisan opposition.
Debt Ceiling Bill Moves to the Senate
The Treasury Department's June 5 deadline leaves little margin of error for lawmakers as they rush to prevent a default of the United States government on its $31.4 trillion debt. Such a default would result in the American government being unable to borrow any more funds or lose its capability to pay all of its bills, as per BBC.
Such a situation would also threaten to cause chaos in the global economy by affecting prices and mortgage rates in other nations. The bill passed the House on Wednesday evening with the support of 165 Democrats and 149 Republicans, giving it a simple majority.
With the GOP having majority control of the lower chamber of Congress and Democrats having control in the upper chamber and White House, a deal became elusive for both parties until Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy saw eye-to-eye on a bipartisan compromise over the weekend.
Biden later released a statement expressing his gratitude to McCarthy, saying that the Republican had negotiated with him in good faith. He added that neither party got everything they wanted in the new measure.
New York Democrat Sen. Chuck Schumer said the Senate would remain in session until it votes to approve the package. The new measure also has the support of Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, according to the New York Times.
Preventing a Government Default
In a statement on Thursday evening, Schumer said that the United States could finally breathe a sigh of relief because the new bill would prevent a looming default. Support for the measure comes as some Republicans claim it would under-fund the Pentagon.
GOP members also demanded a commitment that Congress, in the future, would consider a separate bill to bolster military spending. Some holdouts to the bill ultimately agreed to allow the debt ceiling deal to move forward, which paved the way for final votes.
Brian Marks, the executive director of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program at the University of New Haven's business school, said that the deal is both a win and a loss for both parties, which is in the true spirit of compromise.
The passage of the bill will prevent a default, thus removing the threat of putting more than 8 million Americans out of work, said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Her remarks came last month when she unveiled estimates by the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), said USA Today.
