Senate passes agreement to allow Democrats to raise debt ceiling
WASHINGTON – The Senate passed an agreement Thursday that will allow Congress to move forward in raising the nation's debt limit, all but ensuring the U.S. will be able to keep paying its bills and avoid economic chaos.
The deal, which was approved 59-35, was born from an agreement between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. It would create a one-time, fast-track process to allow Senate Democrats to raise the debt ceiling on their own without fear of a Republican filibuster or other procedural hurdles.
Now, Senate Democrats can then increase the debt limit with just 51 votes, or a simple majority. The vote to raise the debt ceiling could happen as early as next week, a Senate aide told Paste BN.
Under standard rules, a vote to raise the debt ceiling would need 60 votes, meaning at least 10 Republicans would need to join Democrats to push the measure through a Senate split 50-50. But Senate Republicans have been reluctant to help Democrats raise the debt ceiling, and have blocked a long-term increase to the debt limit, leading to the short-term agreement.
The agreement passed the House earlier this week.
More: House passes agreement on deal to allow Democrats to address debt ceiling
Earlier Tuesday, the Senate cleared a key hurdle when 14 Senate Republicans joined all Democratic-voting senators in voting to advance the agreement to a final vote.
"We still have a few more steps to take before we completely resolve this matter, but I'm optimistic that after today's vote, we'll be on a glide path to avoid catastrophic default," Schumer said from the Senate floor Thursday.
Now that the Senate has passed the agreement, it will go to President Joe Biden's desk to be signed into law. Afterwards, lawmakers can begin passing legislation to increase the debt ceiling under the temporary fast-track process.
Lawmakers still face a ticking clock: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told them she estimated the United States would reach its debt ceiling by Dec. 15. If lawmakers do not address the debt limit by then, the U.S. would default on its debts for the first time, which could lead to a global recession, Treasury Department officials and experts said.
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Lawmakers have been struggling to reach a consensus on the debt ceiling for months, as Democrats have insisted the debt that has accumulated is a bipartisan burden, while Republicans wanted Democrats to specify the exact dollar number amount of new national debt as they attempt to pass expansive legislative priorities, like Biden's Build Back Better Act.
The legislation Congress will take up does just that, instead of suspending it for a length of time.
The agreement on the special pathway can be used only once, before mid-January. The proposal is tied to legislation that would prevent automatic cuts to Medicare.