The US Senate passed Thursday evening a bill to raise the debt ceiling and prevent a first ever US default.
The Senate voted 63 to 36 to pass the bill, suspending the nation?’s USD 31.4 trillion debt limit through January 2025.
President Joe Biden said in a statement on the passage of the agreement: “Senators from both parties voted to protect the hard-earned economic progress we have made and prevent a first-ever default by the United States.” “Together, they demonstrated once more that America is a nation that pays its bills and meets its obligations and always will be,” he added.
He continued “our work is far from finished, but this agreement is a critical step forward, and a reminder of what?’s possible when we act in the best interests of our country.” “I look forward to signing this bill into law as soon as possible,” Biden reminded.
For her part, Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen said in a separate statement: “I am pleased that, under President Biden?’s leadership, Congress has passed bipartisan legislation to suspend the debt limit and prevent a first-ever default by the United States.” “This legislation protects the full faith and credit of the United States and preserves our financial leadership, which is critical to our economic growth and stability,” she added.
She affirmed that “the bipartisan agreement also protects against efforts to roll back the President?’s core economic agenda, one that has contributed to a historically strong and resilient economic recovery.” “Congress has a duty to ensure that the United States can pay its bills on time and I continue to strongly believe that the full faith and credit of the United States must never be used as a bargaining chip,” she stressed.
The House of Representatives passed the bill on Wednesday evening with 314 to 117 votes. The bill heads next to President Biden to be signed into law.
Source: Kuwait News Agency