Washington, October 15 (BNA) President Joe Biden on Thursday signed a bill raising the country’s debt ceiling until early December, delaying the possibility of an unprecedented federal default that would cause economic disaster.
The House of Representatives passed a $480 billion increase in the nation’s borrowing ceiling on Tuesday, after the Senate approved a partisan vote last week.
The final approval came after a protracted standoff with Senate Republicans, who spoiled the Democrats’ initial efforts with stalling, delays requiring 60 votes to stop.
In the end, a few Republican senators agreed to join the Democrats and voted to end the GOP’s delays and move to the final vote on the legislation, but minority leader Mitch McConnell said Republicans would not provide any support for another increase in December.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned that the United States will hit the borrowing threshold on Monday, an unprecedented situation that she and others have warned could spell economic disaster for a country still reeling from a global pandemic.
Routine government payments to Social Security recipients, disabled veterans and active-duty military personnel are likely to be delayed, and the economic fallout in the United States could spread to global markets.
The approval of an increase in the short-term debt ceiling ensures that the United States continues to meet its obligations for the time being. But it poses another potential downturn at the end of the year — at a time when lawmakers will also work to pass a federal funding bill to avoid a government shutdown.
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