House Democrats passed standalone legislation to raise the debt ceiling on Wednesday in a 219-212 vote, which is expected to be blocked by GOP …
House Democrats passed standalone legislation to raise the debt ceiling on Wednesday in a 219-212 vote, which is expected to be blocked by GOP lawmakers in the Senate in coming days. Its largely symbolic passage comes two days after GOP lawmakers in the upper chamber blocked a House-passed stop-gap measure to keep the government funded through Dec.3 and increase the federal government’s borrowing limit in addition to providing disaster relief and funds for the resettlement of Afghan refugees. Republicans in both chambers have said they won’t support raising the debt limit, arguing it would greenlight “inflationary spending” for Democrats’ partisan priorities as they look to move forward with a sweeping social spending bill aimed at tackling an array of the Biden administration’s top priorities. Despite GOP pushback, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) stressed the need to increase the borrowing limit, noting that top economists and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen have warned of catastrophic long-term consequences to the economy and the financial markets if the country defaults on its financial responsibilities. “Today, we come to the floor about a very important issue of concern to the economic stability and fiscal soundness of our country.
