US Senate passes bill to raise debt ceiling into early December
(VOVWORLD) - The US Senate approved legislation on Thursday to temporarily raise the federal government's debt limit and avoid the risk of a historic default this month, but put off until early December a decision on a longer-lasting remedy.
 US Capitol in Washington D.C. (Photo: Xinhua/VNA) |
The Senate voted 50-48 to pass the bill following weeks of partisan fighting. The 480 billion USD increase, which would lift the debt limit to 28.9 trillion USD, is expected to be exhausted by December 3, the same day that funding for most federal programs expires under a stop-gap measure passed earlier this month following another partisan standoff.
That means that over the next eight weeks, Congress will have the twin challenges of finding a middle ground on agency spending through September 2022, ranging from education and foreign aid programs to immigration enforcement and airport security, and avoiding yet another debt limit meltdown.