With a final vote of 314-117, H.R.3746, Fiscal Responsibility Act, to raise the debt ceiling overwhelmingly passed the House last night with under two-thirds of the Republican conference voting for it and more Democrats voting for the bill than GOP lawmakers. After Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California) failed to secure the necessary Republican votes to pass the rule governing the bill, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) mobilized Democrats to buck tradition and fill the void to ensure the measure could pass — but only after it was clear that Democrats would be needed to rescue the vote.
The legislation is now in the Senate, where Senators were negotiating which amendments would be allowed on the floor. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) is determined to defeat them, because any changes would force the measure back to the House, where no action would be likely to occur before the default deadline of June 5th. Among those seeking votes is Senator Tim Kaine, (D-Virginia), who on Thursday called for stripping a provision from the legislation that would expedite the approval of the Mountain Valley Pipeline in West Virginia. Several conservative Republicans also want to offer proposals for deeper spending cuts in the measure, while others criticized the Pentagon spending figures in the bill, saying they were too low and could hinder military readiness. But pursuing changes at this point would prove problematic and derail the legislation. Leaders were likely to set the threshold for approval of changes at 60 votes to make them easier to defeat. But several obstacles remain. Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) indicated that he’s willing to allow the deal to move through the Senate at a faster rate in exchange for a vote on an amendment that would cut total federal spending by 5 percent a year. Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) said Thursday that he plans to offer amendments “to strike some of the more egregious provisions” of the bill. Lee cited one example: a section that he argued gives Shalanda Young, director of the Office of Management and Budget, too much power in deciding whether agencies must offset the costs of new rules. So far no one has said they are seeking to derail the legislation. In theory, if all 100 senators can agree, the Senate could pass the bill as early as Thursday night or Friday morning sending it to President Joe Biden.
While the Senate awaits a vote on the debt ceiling legislation, it will wrap up work on H.J.Res.45, Student Loans CRA.
The House is now in recess and will reconvene on Monday, June 5th.
