Senate racing to pass debt ceiling bill ahead of Monday default deadline
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Senate leaders are imploring their colleagues to move quickly to approve a House-passed bill ahead of a Monday deadline that would suspend the debt ceiling, limit federal spending and avert a catastrophic U.S. government default. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight The 99-page legislation brokered by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and President Biden cleared the House on Wednesday night on a 314-117 bipartisan vote. Senators are expected to follow suit, but it remains unclear how quickly they will move.
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Thursday that the chamber would stay in session until it sends the bill to Biden and urged his colleagues not to make changes to the legislation, which would send it back to the House.
“Time is a luxury the Senate does not have if we want to prevent default," Schumer said during floor remarks. “There is no good reason, none, to bring this process down to the wire. ... I hope we see nothing even approaching brinksmanship. The country cannot afford that now.”
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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has also urged colleagues to act before Monday, when the nation will no longer be able to pay its bills.
Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), the majority whip, told reporters that he expects the bill will pass Thursday night or Friday.
But a handful of senators are angling to add amendments to the legislation that could slow the process. Some have expressed a desire for deeper spending cuts, an increase in defense spending and the removal of a provision that would fast-track a controversial pipeline that would carry natural gas across West Virginia and Virginia.
“Any change to this bill that forces us to send it back to the House would be entirely unacceptable,” Schumer said. “It would almost guarantee default.”
During floor remarks, McConnell said the House-passed bill “makes the most serious headway in years toward curbing Washington Democrats’ reckless spending addiction.”
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He voiced concerns about the level of military funding but suggested that could be addressed later.
“While the coming votes are an important step in the right direction, we cannot, cannot neglect our fundamental obligation to address the nation’s most pressing national security challenges,” he said.
In the House, many liberal Democrats opposed the bill, objecting to curbs on government spending and to new work requirements for some recipients of federal food stamps and family welfare benefits. Far-right Republicans also harshly criticized the agreement for not securing more aggressive spending cuts.
But Biden praised the bill after its passage.
The House advanced a bipartisan bill that would raise the debt ceiling for the next two years, sending it to the Senate ahead of the June 5 deadline. (Video: The Washington Post, Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
“This budget agreement is a bipartisan compromise. Neither side got everything it wanted,” he said. “I have been clear that the only path forward is a bipartisan compromise that can earn the support of both parties. This agreement meets that test.”
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While several senators are pressing for amendment votes, none so far has said they are seeking to derail the legislation. In theory, if all 100 senators can agree, the Senate could pass the bill as early as Thursday. But several obstacles remain.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) indicated that he’s willing to allow the deal to move through the Senate at a faster rate in exchange for a vote on an amendment that would cut total federal spending by 5 percent a year.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said Thursday that he plans to offer amendments “to strike some of the more egregious provisions” of the bill. Appearing on Glenn Beck’s syndicated radio program, Lee cited one example: a section that he argued gives Shalanda Young, director of the Office of Management and Budget, too much power in deciding whether agencies must offset the costs of new rules.
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Lee questioned why McConnell and others are pushing for passage as early as Thursday but seemed resigned to the outcome, suggesting there will be about 20 or so “no” votes.
Lee told reporters Wednesday that he doesn’t “have any desire to hold [the legislation] up for the sake of holding it up.” He told Beck, however, that he thinks the overall costs savings in the bill are grossly inflated and that it was “built to do nothing.”
Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) has said he wants to boost defense spending, while Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) wants a vote on removing the provision on the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline project.
The project, championed by Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.), has drawn opposition from local residents and climate activists.
The legislation, as passed by the House, would suspend the debt limit until Jan. 2, 2025. The Congressional Budget Office says the proposal will reduce the deficit by $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years.
The debt ceiling caps the amount the U.S. government can borrow. The current level is $31.4 trillion, and the Treasury Department has been using what it calls “extraordinary measures” since January to shuffle money around in the federal budget to avoid needing to take on more debt.
Marianne LeVine contributed to this report.
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Source: The Washington Post
