US insolvency averted
:
Senate votes in favor of raising the debt ceiling
–
That evening, the decision to raise the debt ceiling was made in the Capitol in Washington.
Photo: AFP/Anna Moneymaker
–
–
Washington US Democrats and Republicans have been arguing over the budget for months. Now the bill has passed and the debt ceiling has been raised by $ 2.5 trillion – a crucial step in averting a government default.
The US Senate has approved a $ 2.5 trillion increase in the debt ceiling to avert an imminent US default. The leaders of the Democratic and Republican parliamentary groups had only reached an agreement a few days ago, thus defusing a controversial issue until after the mid-term elections next year.
–
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in November that she expected the US to default in mid-December if Congress does not raise the debt ceiling. After December 15, her ministry will no longer have sufficient funds to finance the government.
–
The vote in the Congress Chamber on the bill passed with 50 to 49 votes across party lines. Now it goes to the House of Representatives, where approval may be expected in the evening (local time) with an also narrow majority of the Democrats, in order to then be presented to President Joe Biden for signature. Biden needs the debt ceiling to be raised to fund its trillion-dollar infrastructure, health, environmental and social programs.
–
Only last week the Senate paved the way for a one-time fast-track trial to increase the debt ceiling. The Republicans forego the so-called filibuster – permanent speeches that drag debates on and can only be ended with a majority of 60 of the 100 votes in the House of Lords. The Republican minority leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, had named two conditions for the increase in the debt limit months ago and now enforced them: The Democrats had to decide these on their own, without Republican support, and they had to name a specific amount.
–
Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer praised the deal that allowed his Democrats to pass the bill without the threat of filibustering. It is about paying debts accumulated by both parties, said Schumer on Tuesday.
–
The current US debt load is $ 28.9 trillion. It accumulated over decades. The biggest drivers include popular spending programs like Social Security and Medicare, public health insurance for the elderly and disabled, interest payments on the debt, and recent coronavirus relief packages.
–
A number of tax breaks enacted by Republican presidents also contributed. According to an analysis by the Treasury Department, this also includes $ 7.8 trillion that was added during Donald Trump’s four-year presidency.
–
Trump himself repeatedly railed against McConnell’s agreement with the Democrats. He did not have the guts to play the debt ceiling card. It “would have given the Republicans a complete victory over practically anything,” Trump said.
–
– .
