U.S. Debt Ceiling Deal Set For Tight House Vote Tonight
With an agreement in hand, the U.S. House of Representatives will now vote on the bipartisan deal this evening in what is expected to be a tight vote.
On Sunday, President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy came to terms on a final debt ceiling deal just days before the June 5, 2023, deadline, avoiding a potential catastrophic first-ever default.
If passed into law, the new bill will suspend the U.S. debt ceiling, starting after the 2024 elections, until January 1, 2025, effectively removing any limits on U.S. debt until then. However, the legislation would cap certain government spending for the first two years. The bill would also claw back unused pandemic money while also speeding up the process of acquiring permits for energy-related projects.
Earlier today, the House held a procedural vote, which passed 241-187, allowing debate on the bill to start, followed by this evening’s final vote. The vote is expected to take place sometime after 7 pm EST tonight.
Speaking with reporters earlier, an optimistic Speaker McCarthy said of the bill: “It’s going to become law.”
After reaching an agreement on Sunday, President Biden commented on the deal from the White House, stating:
“Good news. The agreement prevents the worst possible crisis, a default, for the first time in our nation’s history. Takes the threat of a catastrophic default off the table.”
If the debt ceiling bill passes the House vote tonight, it would then head to the Senate, where Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell will need to fast-track the legislation so it can be voted on before the June 5th deadline.
If all goes well, President Biden says he expects to have the bill on his desk ready to sign by the deadline, when the federal government will officially run out of money to meet its obligations. If the debt ceiling legislation, for whatever reason, fails to get passed into law, it could cause the United States to default on its debt for the first time in the nation’s history. A default, which would likely lead to a credit downgrade, would be catastrophic for not only the U.S. economy but the entire global financial system.
Now we wait for tonight’s House vote to commence.
Source: Reuters YouTube
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