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US Democrats pass measure to increase ability to borrow money
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House Republicans backed away from a battle over the government’s debt cap on Tuesday and permitted US President Barack Obama’s Democratic allies to drive quick passage of a measure to increase the government’s borrowing ability to pay its bills and avoid a default ahead of the November elections.
The 221-201 vote came hours after Republican House leader John Boehner announced his fractured party would relent.
Just 28 Republicans voted for the measure, including Boehner. But 193 Democrats more than compensated for the low support among Republicans.
Tuesday’s developments amount to a bitter defeat for the Republicans who have sought to use must-pass debt ceiling legislation measures as leverage to force spending cuts on Democrats. Republicans won more than US$2 trillion in spending cuts in a 2011 showdown, but gave Obama two debt limit increases last year with only modest legislative add-ons.
Ahead of congressional elections, both political parties have backed off the bitter fiscal battles that have gripped Washington in recent years. Faced with a tough battle over control of the Senate in particular, neither party wants to shoulder most of the blame for Washington’s dysfunction.
The measure now goes to the Democratic-controlled Senate which is expected to easily approve it later in the week.
The White House applauded Tuesday’s vote. “Tonight’s vote is a positive step in moving away from the political brinkmanship that’s a needless drag on our economy,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said. He said Congress should now take additional steps to strengthen the economy and praised efforts by Obama and Democrats to restore jobless benefits to the long-term unemployed and to increase the minimum wage.
The bill would permit the Treasury Department to borrow money to pay the government’s bills normally for another 13 months, diffusing the chance of a debt crisis well past the November elections and providing time for a newly elected Congress to decide how to handle the issue.
“The full faith and credit (of the United States) should be unquestioned and it is not negotiable,” said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat.
The vote comes four months after Washington defused a government shutdown and debt crisis that burned Republicans politically — an experience they did not want to repeat.
The measure does not raise the debt limit by a set amount.
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