US Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) leaves his office at the US Capitol Building on May 30, 2023 in Washington, DC.
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WASHINGTON — A bill to raise the debt ceiling and limit government spending passed the House by a wide margin late Wednesday, sending the bill to the Senate days before the US default deadline on Monday.
The Fiscal Responsibility Act passed 314-117, with support from both Democrats and Republicans.
It was a dramatic conclusion to weeks of tense negotiations between the White House and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
That drama now moves to the Democratic-controlled Senate, where leaders on both sides want it passed within 48 hours. Late Wednesday night, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., stood in a mostly empty Senate chamber to formally place the bill on the calendar for Thursday.
“There was a very good vote in the House. Hopefully we can move the bill quickly here in the Senate and get it to the president’s desk as soon as possible,” Schumer said.
The reaction from the White House was measured. “Neither side got everything it wanted. That’s the responsibility of governing,” President Joe Biden said in a statement immediately after the vote. Biden thanked McCarthy for “negotiating in good faith,” and urged the Senate to pass the bill quickly.
For McCarthy, the vote was a personal victory worth celebrating. “I was thinking about this day, before my [election as] speaker, because I know the debt ceiling is coming. I want to make history,” he said in a press conference on Wednesday night
“It’s not an easy fight. I’ve had people on both sides who are angry” McCarthy said. “But I think we did a good job for the American people.”
But amid the celebration, some Republicans were left fuming. “The disastrous debt ceiling deal passed with more Democratic votes than Republican votes,” said GOP Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia, an outspoken opponent of the bill. “Tells you all you need to know,” he said, calling the bill “disgraceful” in a tweet late Wednesday.
The fact that McCarthy’s bill passed with 165 Democratic votes, but only 149 from Republicans, came as a surprise to many. Earlier in the day, only 29 Republicans voted against a motion to begin debate on the bill, a final step in the procedure that often serves as a litmus test for the final tally.
But not in this case. On Wednesday night, 71 Republicans voted against McCarthy and voted against the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said federal funds could dry up in the coming days unless lawmakers raise the borrowing limit before next week.
Failure to do so would disrupt global financial markets, cause US job losses and jeopardize important government benefits for millions of Americans.
The Fiscal Responsibility Act was the result of a deal reached between McCarthy and Biden, which essentially gave conservatives some ideological policy victories in exchange for their votes to raise the debt ceiling after next year’s presidential election. year and until 2025.
Most importantly, the bill averts a potentially catastrophic US debt default that could occur next week if Congress fails to pass the bill by then.