WASHINGTON, DC — US lawmakers voted to raise the
federal debt limit on Wednesday, eliminating the threat of a disastrous credit
default with just hours to spare ahead of the deadline set by the Treasury.
اضافة اعلان
The deeply divided Senate voted on Tuesday to raise the
borrowing cap by $2.5 trillion and the
House of Representatives, the lower
chamber of Congress, followed suit in the early hours of the following morning
— staving off the next showdown until at least 2023.
"No brinksmanship, no default on the debt, no risk of
another recession: responsible governing has won on this exceedingly important
issue," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the floor ahead of
the votes.
"The American people can breathe easy and rest assured
there will not be a default."
The vote in both chambers of Congress followed party lines,
with Republicans offering just one vote in the House to deliver the country
from potential disaster, and no votes at all in the Senate.
Both parties see raising the debt ceiling as politically
toxic, although they acknowledge that failure to do so would plunge the
US economy into a depression and roil world markets as the government missed debt
repayments.
Republicans especially hope to weaponize the extension to
campaign against Democratic "overspending" in the 2022 midterm
legislative elections, although it would only cover commitments already made by
both parties.
The two sides agreed last week to create a one-off law
allowing Democrats to lift the nation's borrowing authority without help from
the opposition Republicans.
The legislative sleight-of-hand circumvented the
"filibuster" rule, so that the required 60-40 margin could be
abandoned for this vote only, in favor of a simple majority — allowing
Republicans essentially to stand on the sidelines.
'A basic responsibility'
The Bipartisan Policy Center, an independent
Washington-based think tank, predicted the US would no longer be able to
service its debts sometime after December 21, although Treasury Secretary Janet
Yellen set the deadline at the start of the business day on Wednesday.
America spends more money than it collects through taxation,
so it borrows money via the issuing of government bonds, seen as among the
world's most reliable investments.
Around 80 years ago, lawmakers introduced a limit on how
much federal debt could be accrued.
The ceiling has been lifted dozens of times to allow the
government to meet its spending commitments — usually without drama and with
the support of both parties — and stands at around $29 trillion.
The new borrowing cap will be $31.5 trillion.
Democratic leaders have spent weeks underlining the havoc
that a default would have wrought, including the loss of an estimated six
million jobs and $15 trillion in household wealth, as well as increased costs
for mortgages and other borrowing.
"Addressing the debt limit is a basic responsibility of
the federal government," the White House said in a statement.
"Passage of this legislation will allow the
Treasury to
finance spending and tax cuts Congress has already authorized and to keep its
commitments without causing disruption or harm to our economy and American
families."
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