US Debt Drama Ending as Senate Addresses Threat of Default

On Thursday, US senators rushed to adopt a bipartisan debt ceiling agreement that had been overwhelmingly endorsed by the House of Representatives, presumably averting the worst-case scenario of a crippling collapse on the country’s financial system.

There is practically no tolerance for delays in passing the Fiscal Responsibility Act, which suspends the debt ceiling until 2024 while cutting government expenditure. The Treasury has warned it may not have enough money to pay its payments by Monday.

With a large majority vote of 314 to 117 on Wednesday, the measure cleared the House and is now headed to the White House for President Joe Biden’s signature.

Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor that the body would continue to meet until President Biden received the law preventing default.

“We’ll work nonstop till the task is finished. If we wish to avoid default, the Senate does not have the luxury of time.

However, a lengthy discussion during which senators from both parties sought over a dozen changes threatened to stall the procedure and extend it far into the weekend.

To fast-track legislation, the Senate must vote unanimously, and any solitary senator may prolong the process by delaying discussion of a measure for days.

Many senators have said they want to make changes to the debt agreement, but the majority have said they won’t hold up the process if voting is permitted on their suggested adjustments.

Defense hawks angry that Biden’s budget proposal of $886 billion put a ceiling on Pentagon spending have sought a commitment to a separate package later in the year that would support Ukraine’s defense against an invasion by Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

Rep. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina remarked on the Senate floor, “You cannot claim with a straight face that this military budget is a deterrent to Chinese aggression, that it effectively permits us to confront Putin.

“You cannot say with a straight face that this budget represents the threats that America faces.”

‘MCCARTHY GOT PLAYED’

Mike Lee of Utah tweeted that the Senate might still stop the agreement in its tracks.

Big chance? Sure. But it’s feasible if Republicans keep realizing that McCarthy was duped by (Biden), as many are now, he said.

The majority of Thursday was spent attempting to reach an understanding between Schumer, his Republican rival Mitch McConnell, and his emissaries over the scheduling of votes and the ground rules for how the process would go.

McConnell told reporters on Wednesday, “I can tell you what I hope happens: that those who have amendments, if given votes, would surrender back time so that we can conclude this Thursday or Friday and calm the nation and calm the markets.

Any successful amendment, according to Schumer, would mean that the whole package would be sent back to the House and “risk default, plain and simple.”

Although he didn’t rule it out, he would probably insist on a 60-vote bar for acceptance of the most popular amendments, all but ensuring defeat.

Although McCarthy fell short of the 150 votes — or two thirds of his caucus — he had vowed to provide as he sought to put down a right-wing uprising to prevent an imminent danger to his position, he portrayed the House vote as a significant conservative success.

The vote was celebrated as a significant win for Biden on the other side of Pennsylvania Avenue because he was able to shield practically all of his domestic goals from the drastic budget cutbacks that the Republicans had promised.