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Washington lawmakers are on track to raise the U.S. debt limit, acting ahead of a key deadline to avoid an unprecedented default.
The Senate is scheduled to vote first on a debt-limit increase on Tuesday, setting up a separate vote by the House that would send legislation to President Joe Biden for signature. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has urged Congress to raise the borrowing limit before Wednesday, saying she believed she would run out of room to avoid the first-ever U.S. default soon after.
Last week, Biden signed a bill that is designed to allow Democrats to raise the U.S. debt limit on their own. Democrats control 50 Senate seats, and Vice President Kamala Harris would break any ties in the chamber. The deal allowing Democrats to raise the debt limit was the product of talks between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican. No Republicans are expected to vote for the bill, which will actually lift the borrowing limit.
Democrats “want to create even more inflation on their own. So, as Republicans have made clear for months, they will have to own a debt ceiling increase as well,” McConnell said last week.
Schumer said his party wants to pass the debt-limit increase “to pay the debts we have already incurred, just like any household must do.”
An increase of about $2.5 trillion is expected, which would be enough to last through next year’s November midterm elections.
