APPROVED: House Passes Bipartisan Bill To Raise Debt Ceiling And Cap Future Spending

The House of Representatives passed a piece of legislation tonight that was previously negotiated between President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California. This legislation aims to address two crucial issues: raising the nation’s borrowing limit and establishing a cap on future spending.

The bill, known as the Fiscal Responsibility Act, managed to secure a 314-117 vote in favor, although it faced criticism from both hard-line Republicans and far-left Democrats. The legislation will now move to the Senate, where time is of the essence, as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned that the government will run out of funds to pay its debts in just five days.

Interestingly, the bill faced opposition from both sides of the aisle, with 71 Republicans joining forces with 46 Democrats in voting against it. However, it still managed to gain support from a total of 149 Republicans and 165 Democrats, resulting in its successful passage. Notably, four members did not participate in the voting process.

Prior to the vote, House Speaker McCarthy made an impassioned plea to fellow lawmakers, urging them to support the bill by emphasizing its positive impact on the country. He expressed his desire not to be on the “wrong side of history” and emphasized that, in his opinion, the legislation would have a beneficial effect on job creation, family strength, poverty reduction, and reduced dependence on China.

The bill, spanning 99 pages, seeks to suspend the nation’s debt limit until 2025 in order to avert a potential federal default. Simultaneously, it imposes limitations on discretionary spending. Additionally, it garnered bipartisan support by outlining measures to claw back unspent COVID-19 relief funds, tying work requirements to food benefit programs, and implementing 1% annual growth limits on non-defense discretionary spending.

Notably, the bill includes provisions to reduce federal spending by $136 billion, with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) expected to face a cut of at least $1.4 billion. This is significantly less than the $72 billion reduction in the IRS budget that Republicans had previously passed in an attempt to hinder the hiring of additional IRS agents through President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.

The House Freedom Caucus, a group of conservative lawmakers, opposed the bill, and some of its members publicly declared their intention to vote against it. On the other hand, progressive members of the House, including those belonging to the “Squad,” expressed dissatisfaction with the compromise bill. They urged President Biden to raise the debt ceiling unilaterally by invoking the 14th Amendment, asserting that the GOP’s inclusion of spending caps in the negotiations had held the country “hostage.”

Looking ahead, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have both signaled their support for the bill in the upper chamber. If all goes according to plan, the Senate could vote on and pass the legislation by the end of the week, sending it to President Biden for his signature.

The negotiations surrounding the debt ceiling bill have attracted significant attention due to their potential impact on the nation’s credit rating. Credit rating agency Fitch recently placed the United States on “negative watch,” warning of a possible downgrade to its AAA rating if an agreement to raise the borrowing limit wasn’t reached in a timely manner.

{Matzav.com}