US Senate approves debt ceiling increase to $31.4 trillion

Washington. – Senate The United States agreed to increase the federal government’s debt limit 2.5 trillion dollars, to about $31.4 trillion, and referred the measure to Parliament To avoid an unprecedented breach.

The party’s vote of 50-49 followed a months-long standoff between Democrats and Republicans, in which the latter sought to force President Joe Biden’s party into action. The current debt ceiling of $28.9 trillion On their own, before the 2022 congressional elections.

Last week’s agreement between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and his Republican counterpart Mitch McConnell paved the way for Tuesday’s vote, bypassing regular Senate rules that require 60 of its 100 members to approve most laws.

The Democratic-led House will also need to pass the bill before sending it to Biden for passage. The council is expected to address the issue later on Tuesday.

Schumer said increasing the cap would allow borrowing by 2023, until the November 8 midterm elections that will determine control of Congress.

The increase is partly necessary to cover debt incurred during Donald Trump’s Republican presidency, when it rose by some $7.85 trillion, in part through tax and spending cuts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.

Republicans, who oppose raising the debt ceiling and control half of the Senate’s 100 seats, tried to tie the vote to Biden’s $1.75 trillion “building back better” project to bolster the social safety net and fight climate change.

“It’s about paying off the debts that have accumulated in both parties, so I am pleased that Republicans and Democrats have come together to facilitate a process that has made it possible to address the debt ceiling,” Schumer said in the Senate.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden told reporters on Tuesday he would push to scrap the borrowing limit to avoid future political clashes over the repeated need to raise it.