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‘TIME IS A LUXURY’
The Republican-controlled House passed the bill on Wednesday evening in a 314-117 vote. McCarthy lost the support of dozens of his fellow Republicans.
“Time is a luxury the Senate does not have,” Schumer said on Thursday. “Any needless delay or any last-minute holdups would be an unnecessary and even dangerous risk.”
Biden’s Democrats control the Senate by a thin 51-49 margin. The chamber’s rules require 60 votes to advance most legislation, meaning at least nine Republican votes are needed to pass most bills, including the debt ceiling deal.
Typically on important, contentious bills such as this one, the two Senate leaders find a way to allow just a couple rebelling senators from each party to offer amendments under fast-track procedures, knowing they will lack the votes for passage.
Republicans are considering several amendments on defense-related issues alone, most of which would have a 50-vote threshold, said Senator John Thune, the chamber’s No 2 Republican.
A 50-vote threshold, rather than the chamber’s usual 60, could increase the odds that the Senate might alter the House bill, requiring it to return to the House for yet another vote before heading to Biden’s desk.
“There’ll be several on defense,” said Thune.
One of the Republican senators pushing for amendments, said he believed there was still a path for a full floor vote on Thursday.
“They’re trying to do it today,” said the senator, Mike Lee, whose amendment if passed would prevent the White House opting out of a requirement in the bill to offset new spending with cuts elsewhere.
“I want all of my colleagues who want an amendment vote – Republican or Democrat – to get a vote,” Lee said.
The bill was cobbled together over weeks of intensive negotiations between surrogates for Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The main argument was over spending for the next couple years on “discretionary” programs, such as housing, education and medical research that Republicans wanted to cut deeply while seeking increases in funding for the military, veterans and possibly border security.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates would save US$1.5 trillion over 10 years. That is below the US$4.8 trillion in savings that Republicans aimed for in a bill they passed through the House in April, and also below the US$3 trillion in deficit that Biden’s proposed budget would have reduced the deficit over that time through new taxes.
The last time the United States came this close to default was in 2011. That standoff hammered financial markets, led to the first-ever downgrade of the government’s credit rating and pushed up the nation’s borrowing costs.
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