Debt Ceiling Bill Passes Senate Overwhelmingly; Next Stop Is Joe Biden's Desk

By Rick Martin First Posted: Jun 02, 2023 02:16 AM EDT

The US may now have avoided a historic default, which may result in an economic crisis, as the Senate passes the Debt Ceiling Bill. It now heads to President Joe Biden's desk next. The president is expected to sign the bill and raise the debt ceiling.

The vote to approve the bill was a largely bipartisan affair, with both Democrats and Republicans voting for the bill as it passed the Senate with a 63-36 vote.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer celebrated the bill's passing, saying, "America can breathe a sigh of relief, a sigh of relief, because in this process, we are avoiding default."

He admitted that avoiding economic catastrophe has been one of the things that drove senators to pass the bill as quickly as possible.

Much of Thursday was spent trying to broker the deal among all 100 members of Congress's Upper Chamber. Several Senators, both Democrats and Republicans, still opposed the bill's passage until the end, though it still passed the Senate overwhelmingly.

NPR reported that leaders agreed to take up 11 amendments to the bill after it passed the House. However, Schumer warned his colleagues that none of the amendments could be adopted as they raised the potential of the government defaulting. These amendments ultimately were not included.

"Any change to this bill that forces us to send it back to the House would be entirely unacceptable. It would almost guarantee default," he warned fellow senators as they discussed the bill, which was officially named the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.

Republicans Mike Lee of Utah and Lindsey Graham of North Carolina, as well as Independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who usually sides with Biden, were the loudest in opposition to the bill.

Debt Ceiling Bill Passage, a Big Victory For Joe Biden

As the bill heads to President Joe Biden's desk for signing, the nation breathes a huge sigh of relief as the nation would not run out of money and head to an economic emergency. While this happens, experts are saying that this is largely seen as a victory for Biden and his administration.

While many of his fellow Democrats did not approve of the bill, he still prevented a catastrophe where millions could lose their jobs and set off a global economic crisis as the reverberations of the US defaulting could affect the entire world.

According to The Guardian, this also shows that Biden can get things done by making deals with both sides of the aisle rather than completely alienating the opposition. He showed that he can bridge the political divide, which was seen to be largely impossible during the Trump administration.

While many acknowledged that he and the Democrats could have done better with the deal, it was pointed out that things could have been much worse. For now, Biden was lauded for his actions to make the deal, even canceling his trips to Australia and Papua New Guinea to hold talks with McCarthy.

Debt Ceiling Deal, a Win For Everyone

The bipartisan effort was not embraced by all, as many were not happy about defense spending, work requirements around the supplemental nutritional assistance program, IRS funding, student debt, and more. However, the alternative, as USA Today pointed out, could have been a catastrophe.

Experts say that government spending will only be curbed by a small amount, with the big economic picture remaining unchanged when the bill passes. This means that nothing much might change with what is happening now.

However, the status quo is still preferable to the alternative, as the experts pointed out.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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