U.S. House backs Biden and McCarthy’s debt ceiling deal

U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday gave its support for the pact between U.S. President Joe Biden and Republican leader Kevin McCarthy to raise the debt ceiling in exchange for some cuts to government spending.

The bill will now go to the SenateThe bill will now go to the Senate, five days before the deadline set by the Treasury Department after which the country could default on its national debt.

A large majority of legislators both democrats as republicans have voted in favor of the measureafter several conservatives from the more extreme wing of the party rejected the initiative on the grounds that it does not do enough to limit spending.

Specifically, there have been 314 endorsements-165 from Democrats and 149 from Republicans.. Forty-six Democrats and 71 Republicans voted against. Two members of each party did not vote.

In a speech prior to the vote, the speaker of the lower house, Kevin McCarthy, has encouraged his fellow party members to vote. in favor of the measure, which he called “the largest spending cut in U.S. history.”

“Taxpayers will save about $2.1 billion. And for the first time in more than a decade, the Congress will will spend less next year than this year,” McCarthy said.

If passed in the Democrat-majority Senate and signed by Biden, the measure will raise the debt ceiling for the next two years.that is, until after the next presidential election.

In exchange, the White House pledges to reduce spending levels. and to introduce some requirements for food assistance programs and programs for vulnerable families.

In addition, some of the boost to the Treasury previously approved by the Democrats is reduced, and the process for processing infrastructure projects is streamlined.

The approval of the agreement in Congress is crucial for the country not to default on its public debt.after the debt ceiling, the legal limit to the money the US can borrow to meet its commitments, was reached last January.

Lawmakers have until June 5 to pass in both houses the measure, by which date the Treasury Department estimates that the country will exhaust its reserves.