Taking agreements in principle to early procedural action, both parties gave up positions on a variety of key issues to ensure the government’s resources to repay its global debts remain after June 5.
UPDATE | On Wednesday night, the House passed the debt ceiling bill by a vote of 314-117, just days ahead of the June 5 deadline to avoid a catastrophic U.S. default. Moving now to the north end of the Capitol, Senate Majority Leader Schumer (D - N.Y.) placed the bill on the upper chamber calendar, beginning the procedural process that will allow Senators to pass the legislation as soon as possible. Depending on whether all Senators agree to move forward, the measure could take several days to get through the deliberative body,
UPDATE | Thursday night, after agreeing to limit time and amendments for debate and changes, the Senate advanced H.R. 3746 for signature into law by the President.
After reaching an agreement in principle over the weekend with President Biden, House leaders began pushing a debt ceiling solution through expedited channels in the lower chamber.
The rule for consideration of H.R.3746 (the bipartisan solution to raise the debt ceiling until after the 2024 election) passed the House Rules Committee late Tuesday. As a result, the resolution providing for consideration of the bill is now headed to the floor of the House. If approved, this resolution would act as a mechanism to facilitate action on the floor for Representatives to debate and ultimately vote on the underlying legislation.
Despite some internal resistance on both sides of the aisle, House Speaker McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Minority Leader Jeffries (D-N.Y.) are confident they have the votes in line to secure passage of the debt ceiling package and send it on to the Senate, where Majority Leader Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Minority Leader McConnell (R-Ky.) said they are effectively ready to pass the deal, as well.
Among some of the key provisions in the current debt ceiling solution are slashes to recently authorized funds for the IRS to hire new agents among other non-taxpayer services provided by the Agency.
The Congressional Budget Office released its official estimate of the cost of the bill late Tuesday, finding $1.5 trillion in reductions to deficits over the next 10 years, with package provisions clawing back an estimated $28 billion in unspent pandemic aid; ending a pandemic-era pause on student loan repayments, and changing work requirements for certain recipients of food stamps and cash assistance programs for low-income households.
This figure could rise to $2.1 trillion if future Congresses adhere to the measure's proposed spending caps for fiscal years 2026 through 2029.
Democratic votes are expected to offset GOP defections as the measure is considered on the House floor, but follow NSBA, and check back here for updates as we continue closely watching Congress on this important debt ceiling issue.