Debt Ceiling Deal: US House Overwhelmingly Passes Bill

The House of Representatives has approved a deal to allow the US to borrow more money, days before the world’s biggest economy is due to start defaulting on its debt.

The measure easily passed the chamber by a vote of 314-117, despite some defections on both sides of the aisle.

The Senate must vote on the bill later this week before President Joe Biden can sign it into law.

The government is forecast to hit its borrowing limit on Monday, 5 June.

That has left little margin for error as lawmakers race to avoid the US defaulting on its $31.4tn (£25tn) debt, which underpins the global financial system.

A default would mean the government could not borrow any more money or pay all of its bills. It would also threaten to wreak havoc on the global economy, affecting prices and mortgage rates in other countries.

On Wednesday evening, 165 Democrats joined 149 Republicans in approving the 99-page bill to raise the debt ceiling, allowing it to pass the House by the required simple majority.

With Republicans in control of the lower chamber of Congress and Democrats holding sway in the upper chamber and White House, a deal had proven elusive for weeks until President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy inked a bipartisan compromise over the weekend.

In a statement, Mr Biden thanked the Speaker, saying he had negotiated in good faith.

“Neither side got everything it wanted,” said the president. “That’s the responsibility of governing.”

The agreement suspends the debt ceiling, the spending limit set by Congress, which determines how much money the government can borrow until 1 January 2025.

BBC/Shakirat Sadiq