A majority in the US House of Representatives has approved the agreement to increase the debt ceiling of the US government. In the absence of congressional approval, the United States was in danger of running out of money, which would have caused major chaos in the financial markets.
Particularly among conservatives within the Republican party, who believe that the government should cut more, some resistance to the deal arose at the last minute. Some progressive Democrats voted against, dissatisfied with job requirements for participants in a federal food aid program. In the end, the opponents were far outnumbered: 117 against 314 yes voters.
Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy had already reached an agreement on the debt ceiling last Saturday. It states, among other things, that the federal debt burden of the federal state may rise above the previously set ceiling of $ 31.4 trillion until January 1, 2025.
The deal now goes to the Senate for approval, where the Democrats have the majority.
Biden called the vote “an essential step forward” and praised the “compromise reached by two parties.” “Today the House took an essential step to prevent a default by the United States for the first time ever,” he said in a statement from the White House.
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