US President Joe Biden hailed an “essential step forward”. The elected representatives of the House of Representatives voted on Wednesday, May 31, by a very large majority, in favor of the text lifting the debt ceiling until 2025, thus removing the risk of a possible default in payment by the States. United starting June 5.
The bill, which received 314 votes in favor (165 Democrats and 149 Republicans) and 117 against (71 Republicans and 46 Democrats).
It must now be passed by the Senate, where Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer assured Wednesday that he would submit it “as quickly as possible” so that “we avoid default”.
“The Biggest Budget Cuts in History”
For his part, the Republican Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, estimated during a press conference that this vote “puts the American citizen first” by realizing what “no previous mandate had succeeded until ‘here’: cut federal spending. “Tonight’s vote passed the largest budget cuts in American history,” he insisted.
The result of marathon negotiations and ripped off with forceps during the extended Memorial Day weekend, the text must make it possible to ensure that the coffers of the country do not find themselves dry on Monday, June 5. It was to avoid this scenario with potentially catastrophic repercussions for the economy that Joe Biden and Kevin McCarthy reached a “compromise”, in the words of the president, which did not fully satisfy anyone.
Before the vote, Kevin McCarthy had admitted that he would not get the full vote in his camp, while displaying his optimism. And for good reason, the Democratic leaders, although they were forced to make changes to the federal budget, have pledged to provide those that are missing. “House Democrats will ensure the country does not default. One point, that’s all,” said their leader, Hakeem Jeffries. “We won’t let hardline Republicans drag down our economy and hurt Americans,” he added.
“No Republican should vote”
In both camps, however, many voices had made it known that they would not vote for the text. Among Republicans, the main criticism came from the Trumpist wing, which called for more spending cuts. Texas MP Chip Roy slammed a “bad deal” that “no Republican should vote for.” Some members of their group are even considering a motion of no confidence to force Kevin McCarthy off the roost. The proposal can be tabled by a single elected representative.
More moderate voices, like that of South Carolina elected official Nancy Mace, were also missing. “This ‘agreement’ formalizes the record level of federal spending during the pandemic and makes it the baseline for future spending,” she criticized ahead of the vote.
On the Democratic side, left-wing elected officials like Pramila Jayapal and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez refused to support a text “imposed” according to them by the Republicans.
The bill lifts the debt ceiling until 2025, i.e. after the presidential election, at the end of 2024. In exchange, certain expenditures will be limited in order to keep them stable, excluding military expenditures, in 2024, and increasing by 1%, excluding inflation, in 2025.
A major point of contention, the compromise includes changes to the conditions imposed to benefit from certain social assistance: it increases from 49 to 54 the age until which adults without children must work to receive food assistance, but it eliminates this obligation to work for veterans and the homeless.
