The 99-page bill phases in higher age limits for work requirements on certain federal safety net programs like food stamps, lifting the maximum age from 50 to 54 by 2025. It establishes spending caps for the federal budget while also making policy changes, including: a claw-back of approximately $27 billion in federal agencies intended to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and an overhaul of permitting reviews for energy projects. The bipartisan bill pairs a suspension of the debt limit to a package of spending cuts. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has already said lawmakers are prepared to stay the weekend to pass the bill, if needed. The bill now heads to the Democratic-controlled Senate, where it will need 60 votes before it would go to Biden's desk. could run out of money to pay its bills, according to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. But sitting with one House, with a Democratic Senate and a Democratic president who didn't want to meet with us, I think we did pretty dang good for the American public," McCarthy said during a press conference following the vote, referencing his frequent complaint that Biden wouldn't meet with him again after a February meeting until House Republicans passed a debt ceiling bill of their own. I want to thank Speaker McCarthy and his team for negotiating in good faith, as well as Leader Jeffries for his leadership."Ĭongressional leaders have been saying for weeks that any bill to prevent a default must have bipartisan support. "Tonight, the House took a critical step forward to prevent a first-ever default and protect our country's hard-earned and historic economic recovery," Biden said in a statement. Ultimately, Democrats played a larger role than Republicans in its passage: 165 Democrats joined 149 Republicans to approve the bill. There had been a question as to whether Democrats would supply just enough votes for the bill to pass to avoid a default or if they would come out in force in support of Biden. With his narrow majority, McCarthy carried out a balancing act - crafting a deal that satisfied the demands of the majority of his conference without alienating some of the Democratic lawmakers he needed to support the bill in order for it to pass. The high stakes negotiations and subsequent passage of the bill were a critical test for McCarthy as speaker. The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 overwhelmingly cleared the chamber Wednesday evening with a 314-117 vote. House lawmakers have passed a piece of compromise legislation brokered between President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to avoid an unprecedented debt default with just days to spare.
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