House passes bill that would allow Senate to raise debt ceiling [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• The House passed a bill that would allow the Senate to raise the debt ceiling with a simple majority vote.
• Once the legislation gets through the Senate and to President Joe Biden’s desk, Congress can hold separate votes to increase the U.S. borrowing limit.
• The U.S. is expected to hit its debt ceiling around Dec. 15, which raises the threat of a default.

House lawmakers passed a procedural bill Tuesday allowing the Senate to raise the debt ceiling by 222-212, clearing the way for Democrats to proceed without needing Republican support.

The bill now proceeds to the Senate, where at least 10 Republicans will have to join Democrats in voting in favor of the procedure. From there, the Senate will vote to raise the debt ceiling by a fixed dollar amount, with passage obtainable by a simple majority vote.

“Once the Senate has passed the legislation lifting the debt limit, the House will take up that bill and send it to the President,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a letter to Democratic lawmakers ahead of the vote.

Only one Republican, Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, voted for the House bill.

The procedural legislation stemmed from lengthy negotiations between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. The bill also includes measures preventing cuts to Medicare programs.

The maneuver will allow Congress to avoid a debt default while sidestepping a months-long partisan debate. Republican lawmakers say Democrats should raised the debt ceiling without their help, arguing any suspension of the limit would facilitate spending on costly social and climate programs included in President Biden’s “Build Back Better Act.”

“I believe we’ve reached here a solution to the debt ceiling issue that’s consistent with Republican views of raising the debt ceiling for this amount at this particular time and allows the Democrats to proudly own it, which they’re happy to do,” McConnell told reporters earlier in the day.

The Senate is expected to vote on the procedural bill on Thursday. Both chambers of Congress would then vote on the terms of the debt limit itself.

For Democrats, the procedural bill addresses the debt ceiling without use of the budget reconciliation process, which Schumer and other party leaders say would be too risky.

“Our goal has been to increase the debt limit. We want a simple majority without a convoluted, risky, lengthy process, and it looks like the Republicans will help us facilitate that, so we feel very good about where we’re headed on the debt ceiling,” Schumer said.

Last month, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen informed lawmakers the federal government would reach its debt ceiling by Dec. 15 without action from Congress.

Source: Fox News