US Senate Votes to Temporarily Raise Debt Ceiling
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The United States Senate passed a bill to raise the US debt ceiling by $480 billion and push the deadline to December 3, when the funds theoretically run out.
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Senator Mitch McConnell in the Capitol Building after the Senate session on October 7, 2021 (AFP)
The US Senate voted Thursday to raise the debt ceiling by $480 billion, pushing the deadline until December 2021. Had they not voted to raise it, the United States would have credit defaulted, sparking a recession and causing problems in world markets.
Both Democrats and Republicans agreed to a stop-gap fix to raise the US national debt with a small margin of 50 to 48. Eleven Republicans voted in favor of a procedural vote greenlighting the bill.
The bill only temporarily staves off credit defaulting by adding an extra $480 billion to the allowable debt total. The stop-gap only came 11 days before the United States would not have been able to borrow money nor pay off loans. This would have been a first in history for the US.
Although the Democrats and the Republicans had headstrong discourse regarding the deal, the stop-gap relieved Wall Street, causing the stock market price to decrease after closing high.
Senate Democrat majority leader, Chuck Schumer, announced the deal on the Senate floor following the early-morning negotiations. "Republicans played a dangerous and risky partisan game, and I am glad that their brinksmanship did not work," he said.
Instead of solving the US debt crisis, the stop-gap merely pushes the deadline and increases the allowable debt total, pushing it until December 3. A new shutdown would take place as the treasury cannot provide any more funds, closing federal services and properties.
"What is needed now is a long-term solution, so we don't go through this risky drama every few months," Schumer asserted.
The stop-gap bill will be on Biden's desk on Tuesday, after the House of Representatives votes on it, said Democrat House Majority Leader, Steny Hoyer.
