(Washington) The elected members of the House of Representatives adopted on Wednesday by a very large majority the text aimed at raising the debt ceiling, thus further distancing the specter of a default by the United States on its debt, which would have had catastrophic consequences on the American and global economy.
In the evening, the bill received 314 votes in favor, 165 Democrats and 149 Republicans, while 117 elected officials opposed it, 71 Republicans and 46 Democrats.
It must now be adopted by the Senate, which should decide quickly, the leader of the Democratic majority, Chuck Schumer assuring a little earlier in the day that he would submit it “as quickly as possible” so that “we avoid the default of payment “.
The result of marathon negotiations and ripped off with forceps during the extended Memorial Day weekend, the text must make it possible to avoid the worst: that the coffers of the country find themselves dry next Monday, then risking bringing the United States to the default of payment.
It was to avoid this scenario with potentially catastrophic repercussions for the economy that Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican House Leader Kevin McCarthy reached an agreement, which, like any compromise, did not fully satisfy anyone.
PHOTO JONATHAN ERNST, REUTERS
Republican House Leader Kevin McCarthy
Before the vote, the Republican leader had acknowledged that he would not get the full number of votes in his camp, while displaying his optimism. “Today we will enact the largest budget cuts in American history,” he emphatically told reporters.
And for good reason, the Democratic leaders, although they were forced to alter the federal budget, undertook to bring the votes that would be missing from this text.
“House Democrats will ensure the country does not default. One point, that’s all,” said their leader Hakeem Jeffries.
“We will not let the extremist Republicans weigh down our economy and make Americans suffer, even if it remains to be seen how the mechanics will be put in place” in the hemicycle, he added, hoping that Kevin McCarthy rallies at least two thirds of his group, i.e. 150 votes.
Joe Biden visited Colorado on Wednesday evening. Before he left, he said he hoped the legislation would pass the House before he arrived in the western US state.
“By the time I land, Congress will have acted, the House will have acted, and we will have taken another step”, launched the American president, who had already called “firmly” on elected officials to adopt the most recent text. day before.
“Bad Deal”
In both camps, many voices had however made it known that they would not vote for the text.
Among the Republicans, the main criticisms come from the Trumpist wing which demanded more spending cuts. The elected representative of Texas Chip Roy thus castigated a “bad agreement”, for which “no Republican should vote”.
PHOTO EVELYN HOCKSTEIN, REUTERS
Texas Rep. Chip Roy
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, such as that of South Carolina elected official Nancy Mace, were also missing. “This “agreement” formalizes the record level reached by federal spending during the pandemic and makes it the baseline for future spending,” she criticized before 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 suspends the debt ceiling until 2025, i.e. after the presidential elections, 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.
It also provides for a decrease of 10 billion dollars in funds allocated to tax services to modernize and strengthen controls.
McCarthy’s office also said the deal provides for the recovery of “billions of dollars in unspent COVID-19 funds” during the pandemic, without further details.
A major point of contention, the compromise includes modifications to the conditions imposed to benefit from certain social aid: 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.