The United States Senate under Democratic control this Thursday approved the agreement reached between Joe Biden and Kevin McCarthy to raise the debt ceiling, preventing the country from entering a four-day suspension of the limit set by the US Treasury Secretary. Stopped. Janet Yellen, that the country goes into suspension of payments. With 63 votes in favor and 36 votes in opposition, the bill passed the final legislative hurdle before ending up at the White House for the US President to seal his signature.
The draft has been approved by the Senate a day after the lower house put its approval in the hands of Republicans. “The United States of America can breathe easy because through this process we are avoiding default,” said House Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer shortly before the vote.
With these words, Schumer was announcing a deal with a group of wayward Republican senators who, shortly before, had threatened to prolong the process if Democrats did not commit to ensuring that The defense budget can be increased more than what is envisaged in the agreement. on one’s own. After his speech, he began a lengthy process of proposing amendments, which failed to prevent the project from being ratified, as it had been approved by the House of Representatives the day before.
The measure suspends the debt ceiling for the next two years until after the November 2024 presidential elections. Specifically, it suspends the current debt ceiling of $31.4 trillion until January 1, 2025. Republicans in the White House and lower house consider spending limits on programs funded by Congress in areas such as health, education, justice or environmental protection, among other things.
Under that agreement, non-defense spending would remain the same in fiscal year 2024 and increase by 1% in fiscal year 2025. It also makes work requirements harder to access social benefits such as food stamps, and does not spend $28 billion that was earmarked for the pandemic relief program.
In parallel, it cuts the portion of new funds destined for the public treasury to reallocate to items it does not protect and considers resuming payment of loans accumulated by university students. Are.
joe biden will give a speech tomorrow
Shortly after, US President Joe Biden, on his way back to the White House after attending an Air Force graduation ceremony in Colorado where he suffered a spectacular fall, received a phone call from former President Barack Obama in which the former President Asked about vote in Congress, said government.
The President of the United States celebrated the ratification in the Senate and assured that he hoped to sign it “as soon as possible”. Apart from this, he has announced that tomorrow he will directly address the American people.
“We still have much work to do, but this agreement is an important step forward, and reminds us of what is possible when we act in our country’s best interests,” Trump said in a statement released after the vote.
Prior to the debate, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the House would remain in session until the bill passed, warning that any “unnecessary delay” would be “an unnecessary and dangerous risk”.
Approval of the agreement in both chambers of Congress was crucial so that the country does not default on its public debt, after reaching the debt ceiling last January, the legal limit on the amount of money the US can request to borrow to meet its commitments. Is.
(translation to tag) Joe Biden
