The US House of Representatives on Tuesday defeated a bill to raise the US debt limit in a vote staged by Republicans to strengthen their push for deep spending cuts in negotiations with the White House.
By a vote of 318-97, the Republican-controlled chamber overwhelmingly rejected US President Barack Obama’s call to increase the US$14.3 trillion debt limit without conditions. Even some Democrats supporting Obama’s position voted against it.
“I’m going to advise my members that they not subject themselves to the demagoguery that is sure to follow” if they vote for the measure, US Representative Steny Hoyer, who serves as the Democrats’ whip, said before the vote.
Polls show the public does not support a further increase in borrowing authority even as the US Department of Treasury scrambles to avoid a default that could push the country back into recession and rattle markets across the globe.
The Treasury has been tapping alternate funding sources, such as US federal employee pensions, to cover its obligations since the debt limit was reached on May 16, but has said it will run out of options if the US Congress does not act by Aug. 2.
For now, markets are little concerned by the possibility of default on what is viewed as one of the world’s safest investments. Yields on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond reached a new low for this year earlier in the day and traders predicted even lower yields later in the week.
“If we were having this conversation at the end of July it would be a different story. If the vote fails tonight, I don’t think it impacts prices,” said Christian Cooper, head of US dollar derivatives trading at Jeffries & Co in New York.
House Republicans held the vote in the late afternoon, well after markets had closed.
Obama was to press the case on why the debt limit should be raised when he meets with House Republicans yesterday, the White House said.
Republicans said they would not back an increase in the country’s borrowing authority that does not include deep spending cuts to ensure that debt remains at a manageable level relative to the economy.
“This vote makes clear that deficit reduction will be part of any bill to increase the debt limit,” said Republican Representative Dave Camp, who sponsored the bill even though he does not support it.
In talks led by US Vice President Joe Biden, Republicans and Democrats have identified hundreds of billions of US dollars in possible spending cuts, and both sides say they could ultimately find more than a trillion US dollars in deficit savings.
However, they must resolve a dispute over the biggest-ticket items. Democrats say they will not consider cuts to popular health benefits until Republicans consider tax increases.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese