Washington: U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill to suspend the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling with both Democrats and Republicans showing a clear majority to avoid a catastrophic default in the country amid opposition to the plan led by hardline conservatives.
The Republican-majority House voted 314-117 to send the legislation to the US Senate which has to enact the measure and get it to President Joe Biden’s desk before Monday’s deadline when the country’s federal government is expected to run out of money.
“This agreement is good news for the American people and the American economy,” Biden said after the vote. “I urge the Senate to pass it as quickly as possible so that I can sign it into law,” he said, as quoted by news agency Reuters.
The plan was agreed upon in a compromise between Biden and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy but still drew opposition from 71 hardline Republicans.
According to Reuters’ report, the opposition would normally be enough to block partisan legislation, but 165 Democrats and over 149 Republicans backed the bill and pushed it through.
Comments are closed.