U.S. debt ceiling pact will be tested in Congress. On Tuesday, Congress will vote on a bipartisan compromise to raise the $31.4 trillion U.S. debt ceiling, setting up a tense week before the country runs out of money.
The Republican-controlled House and Democratic-controlled Senate will vote on the 99-page bill after the House Rules Committee considers it at 3 p.m. (1900 GMT) on Tuesday.
Democratic President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the senior Republican in Congress, expect to enact it before Monday, when the Treasury Department predicts it won’t have enough money to meet its debts.
Republican vote counter Stephanie Bice predicted its passage. “It is true negotiation and reflective of divided government,” she told reporters.
It must first pass the Rules Committee.
McCarthy added three conservatives to the important 13-member panel after becoming House speaker in January.
Two of those lawmakers have declared they will vote against the package, while Representative Thomas Massie has said he does not want to block passage.
He suggested backing the package on Monday. “I think it’s important to keep in mind the debt limit bill itself does not spend money,” he tweeted. His office rejected comment.
Biden’s deal may be opposed by the panel’s four Democrats, who usually vote against Republican bills. Representative Mary Gay Scanlon, a moderate, supports the arrangement. She did not comment.
McCarthy stated Monday the Rules Committee would not kill the bill. If it passes, the House will vote Wednesday.
Senate lawmakers could delay a vote until the weekend. At least one Republican, Mike Lee, has hinted he may attempt, while others have expressed dissatisfaction with the compromise.
The idea would postpone the debt limit until Jan. 1, 2025, giving Biden and Congress time to consider the politically hazardous matter after the November 2024 presidential election.
It would also freeze government spending for two years, speed up energy project permitting, claw back unused COVID-19 funding, and oblige poor Americans to work for food help.
Though the White House maintains it won’t hurt tax enforcement, it would eliminate some IRS spending, another Republican gain.
The pact preserves Biden’s infrastructure and green-energy policies and reduces Republicans’ funding cuts and job requirements.
Republicans say severe spending cutbacks are needed to reduce the national debt, which at $31.4 trillion is equivalent to the economy’s yearly production.
As the population ages and health and retirement costs rise, government predictions predict that debt interest payments will consume more of the budget.
The arrangement would not slow those fast-growing programs.
Capping domestic spending on housing, border control, scientific research, and other “discretionary” programs would save the most. Military spending could rise for two years.
Ratings agencies threatened to downgrade U.S. debt, which underlies the global financial system, during the debt-ceiling standoff. Markets have welcomed the arrangement.
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