Legislation brokered by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to lift the $31.4 trillion U.S. debt ceiling and achieve new federal spending cuts passed an important hurdle late on Tuesday, advancing to the full House of Representatives for debate and an expected vote on passage on Wednesday.
The House Rules Committee voted 7-6 to approve the rules allowing debate by the full chamber. Two committee Republicans, Representatives Chip Roy and Ralph Norman, bucked their leadership by opposing the bill.
That vote underscored the need for Democrats to help pass the measure in the House, which is controlled by Republicans with a narrow 222-213 majority.
House passage would send the bill to the Senate. The measure needs congressional approval before June 5, when the Treasury Department could run out of funds to pay its debts for the first time in U.S. history.
If the Treasury Department cannot cover make all its payments, or if it was forced to prioritize payments, that could trigger economic chaos in the U.S. and global economies.
Biden and McCarthy have predicted they will get enough votes to pass the 99-page bill into law before the June 5 deadline.
The non-partisan budget scorekeeper for Congress on Tuesday said the legislation would reduce spending from its current projections by $1.5 trillion over 10 years beginning in 2024.
The Congressional Budget Office also said the measure, if enacted into law, would reduce interest on the public debt by $188 billion.
McCarthy called the bill the “most conservative deal we’ve ever had.”
Nevertheless, some of the House’s most conservative Republicans who sought far deeper spending reductions were not persuaded and it was unclear how many Democrats McCarthy will need to win Wednesday’s anticipated vote on passage.
All four Democrats on the Rules Committee voted against the bill, as they typically do on Republican-backed legislation. It was unclear whether that might influence other Democrats to do the same on Wednesday, even as Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said his party would provide the support McCarthy needs.
Many Democrats in Congress did not want Biden to engage in budget-cutting negotiations with Republicans until they lifted their hold on enacting a debt limit bill.
SENATE BATTLE AHEAD
White House Budget Director Shalanda Young, who was one of Biden’s lead negotiators, urged Congress to pass the bill.
“I want to be clear: This agreement represents a compromise, which means no one gets everything that they want and hard choices had to be made,” Young told a news conference.
A Senate vote could possibly stretch into the weekend if lawmakers in that chamber try to slow its passage.
Source : https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-debt-ceiling-deal-face-its-first-test-congress-2023-05-30/