The US Senate on Thursday night dodged a debt disaster for the country, voting to extend the US government’s borrowing authority into December and temporarily avert an unprecedented US federal default that experts warned would devastate the US economy and harm millions of Americans.
The party-line Democratic vote of 50 to 48 in support of the bill to raise the government’s debt ceiling by nearly US$500 billion brought instant relief in Washington and far beyond.
However, it provides only a reprieve. Assuming that the House of Representatives goes along with the Senate’s vote, Republican and Democratic US lawmakers would still have to tackle their deep differences on the issue once more before the end of the year.
Photo: AFP
That debate would take place as lawmakers also work to fund the federal government for the new fiscal year and as they keep up their bitter battling over US President Joe Biden’s top domestic priorities — a bipartisan infrastructure plan with nearly US$550 billion in new spending, as well as a much more expansive US$3.5 trillion effort focused on health, safety net programs and the environment.
Easing the crisis at hand — a disastrous default looming in just weeks — US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell offered his support for allowing a short-term extension of the government’s borrowing authority after leading solid Republican opposition to a longer extension.
He acted as Biden and business leaders ramped up their concerns that a default would disrupt government payments to millions of Americans and throw the nation into recession.
The Republican senators’ concession to give up their blockade for now was not popular with some members of the Republican caucus, who complained that the nation’s debt levels are unsustainable.
“I can’t vote to raise this debt ceiling, not right now, especially given the plans at play to increase spending immediately by another US$3.5 trillion,” US Senator Mike Lee said shortly before the vote.
US Senator Ted Cruz said that Democrats had been on “a path to surrender” on the process used to lift the debt cap, but “unfortunately, yesterday, Republicans blinked.”
Eleven Republican senators voted to end debate, providing the threshold needed to move the bill to a final vote.
However, no Republicans sided with Democrats in the final vote for the measure, after McConnell has said the majority party would have to increase the debt ceiling on its own.
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