Senate Passes Debt Ceiling Bill
Samantha Aschieris /
The Senate voted Thursday evening to pass the debt ceiling legislation, clearing the way for President Joe Biden to sign it into law.
The Senate vote to pass the debt ceiling bill was 63-36. The Senate also voted on 11 amendments on Thursday night, none of which passed.
>>> Scroll to end of article to see full list of senators who voted against the bill.
“Four months after Speaker McCarthy invited President Biden to begin negotiating a resolution to the looming debt crisis, an important step toward fiscal sanity will finally become law,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement after the bill’s passage. “Thanks to House Republicans’ efforts, the Fiscal Responsibility Act avoids the catastrophic consequences of default and begins to curb Washington Democrats’ addiction to reckless spending that grows our nation’s debt.”
“Tonight, the Senate passed legislation that will reduce federal spending by $1.5 trillion, begin to reform the infrastructure permitting process, finally rescind unspent COVID dollars, and cut spending at the IRS. But our work is far from over, particularly in delivering necessary support to America’s armed forces,” McConnell said.
The House voted on Wednesday evening to pass the debt ceiling bill, 314-117, with some of the House’s most conservative Republicans opposing it as not going far enough to establish fiscal discipline. A total of 149 Republicans and 165 Democrats voted for the legislation, while 71 Republicans and 46 Democrats voted against it. Another four House members didn’t vote.
Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., reached a deal Saturday after weeks of negotiations between Republicans and Democrats.
The 99-page bill, called the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, would rescind roughly $30 billion of unspent COVID-19 relief funds; completely fund veterans’ medical care as proposed in the president’s budget for fiscal year 2024, and end the COVID-19-era pause in repaying student loans in late August, The Associated Press reported.
Following its passage in the Senate, the legislation will now head to the president’s desk.
Heritage Action for America, the grassroots advocacy arm of The Heritage Foundation, opposed the new legislation resulting from the Biden-McCarthy deal.
“This deal does not meet the moment, and it does not address the root problems that have led to nearly $32 trillion in national debt,” Heritage Action said in a written statement. “As members of Congress continue the fight to rein in Washington’s spending addiction and prevent the country’s fiscal ruin, we remain committed to finding solutions to once and for all bend the spending curve down.”
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen set June 5 as the deadline for lawmakers to act in follow-up letters dated Friday to McCarthy, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
“Since January, I have highlighted to you the risk that Treasury would be unable to satisfy all of our obligations by early June if Congress did not raise or suspend the debt limit before that time,” Yellen wrote. “In my letters, I also noted that I would continue to update Congress as more information became available.”
The Republican senators who voted no:
- John Barrasso, Wyo.
- Marsha Blackburn, Tenn.
- Mike Braun, Ind.
- Katie Britt, Ala.
- Tedd Budd, N.C.
- Bill Cassidy, La.
- Tom Cotton, Ark.
- Mike Crapo, Idaho
- Ted Cruz, Texas
- Steve Daines, Mont.
- Deb Fischer, Neb.
- Lindsey Graham, S.C.
- Josh Hawley, Mo.
- Cindy Hyde-Smith, Miss.
- Ron Johnson, Wis.
- John Kennedy, La.
- James Lankford, Okla.
- Mike Lee, Utah
- Cynthia Lummis, Wyo.
- Roger Marshall, Kansas
- Rand Paul, Ky.
- Pete Ricketts, Neb.
- Jim Risch, Idaho
- Marco Rubio, Fla.
- Eric Schmitt, Mo.
- Rick Scott, Fla.
- Tim Scott, S.C.
- Dan Sullivan, Alaska
- Tommy Tuberville, Ala.
- JD Vance, Ohio
- Roger Wicker, Miss.
The Democrat senators who voted no:
- John Fetterman, Pa.
- Edward Markey, Mass.
- Elizabeth Warren, Mass.
- Jeff Merkley, Ore.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., also voted against it.
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