It includes conservative measures to claw back about $28 billion in unspent Covid relief funds, eliminate $1.4 billion in IRS funding and overhaul the permitting process for energy projects. Most Republicans, however, praised his ability to get the bill through an unruly House. On this vote, the ayes are 63, the nays are 36. Ultimately, we wont know the full impact of this $20 billion cut for a few years, but its certainly not going to help.. 1/2. For effectively a 2 yr spending freeze, watered down work requirements that save $0, continuation of the radical green agenda, & an alleged 1% default cut that requires the same folks pushing this deal & to make it occur? Kenny Holston . The bill would also exempt veterans, the homeless and people who were children in foster care from food-stamp work requirements. For Ms. Young, the effort has meant certain personal sacrifices. Most important, that number assumes Congress votes to implement four years of optional, nonenforceable spending caps that follow the two years of hard caps in 2024 and 2025. enforcement and officially end Mr. Bidens student loan repayment freeze. Read about our approach to external linking. So I'm gonna go in there, I'm gonna watch how the votes go, but when you're paying ransom, it's not about do you think that's a great deal. The debt limit bill would deal a blow to the ambitions of the I.R.S. Instead of a total deficit reduction of $1.5 trillion over a decade, as the Congressional Budget Office has projected, the full package would probably reduce deficits by about $1 trillion, including interest payments, over a decade. General Assembly Appointments. "Four months after Speaker McCarthy invited President Biden. That money was supposed to pay for a crackdown on companies and high earners who evade taxes. Republicans wanted to gut investments we made in the I.R.A., in the Inflation Reduction Act, that are driving a new generation of American manufacturing, billions and billions of investments and thousands upon thousands of jobs. Tom Brenner . The wrangling over the nations debt limit raises a lot of questions, including what it actually is and why the United States has one. The end of the pause will affect millions of Americans who have taken out federal student loans to pay for college. It is also a political win for Republicans, who have been outraged by the prospect of a beefed up I.R.S. Representative Chip Roy of Texas, center, and other Republicans have expressed their opposition to the deal suspending the debt limit, which allows the federal government to borrow as much money as it needs until January 2025. The legislation would also impose stricter work requirements for food stamps, claw back some funding for I.R.S. The bill also claws back about $30 billion in unspent money from a previous Covid relief bill signed by Mr. Biden, which had been a top Republican priority entering negotiations. Should it pass, President Joe Biden has promised a veto. would bring in hundreds of billions of dollars of tax revenue that is owed but goes uncollected, largely because the I.R.S. Ms. Young was part of a negotiating team that included Steve Ricchetti, one of Mr. Bidens closest advisers, and Louisa Terrell, the director of the White House Office of Legislative Affairs. Before the final passage, the Senate voted on 11 amendments to the bill, all of which failed. The point is you got to save the country. Together, they demonstrated once more that America is a nation that pays its bills and meets its obligations and always will be. The side deals include: Allowing appropriators to repurpose $10 billion a year in 2024 and 2025 from the I.R.S. ", McConnell praised McCarthy in a statement for acting first and passing a bill that "avoids the catastrophic consequences of default and begins to curb Washington Democrats addiction to reckless spending that grows our nations debt.". You will get updates when any bill is scheduled for debate in the week ahead by the House Majority Leader or in the day ahead according to the Senate Floor Schedule. The fact that more Democrats backed the measure in the Republican-majority House earned McCarthy criticism from members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, who threatened to challenge his speakership. 5376) that includes significant tax law changes. He did not get tax increases on wealthy individuals, despite insisting that it was important to make the rich pay their fair share of the nations tax bill. How much does the debt limit deal save? The legislation also officially ends a student loan repayment freeze that has been in place during the pandemic, imposes stricter work requirements for food stamps, claws back some funding from the IRS and unspent COVID relief funds, and speeds up new energy projects. Almost there! The conservative court flexed its muscles. It would limit all discretionary spending to 1 percent growth in 2025, which is effectively a budget cut because that is projected to be slower than the rate of inflation. The final vote tally was 63 to 36. Senate Democrats revived the bill, a year in the making, with a furious few final weeks of negotiations mainly between Sen. The Liberal government revealed its fiscal plan in late March, promising to create a national dental care program and spend billions on clean energy incentives. Seventy-one Republicans voted against the bill, compared to 46 Democrats. The economic impact of the pandemic has faded since President Donald J. Trump first paused student loan payments in March 2020. He noted on the last one that the Senate was lagging on its 10-minute requirement. Lawmakers also noted that Ms. Young is one of the few people in Washington trusted by people on both sides of the aisle. House Clears $1.7 Trillion Spending Package, Averting Shutdown. But no, I don't like this., However, he said that the administration handled the negotiations, just right., Sen. Joni Ernst said she is concerned about the defense spending in the bill, but that she thinks "these are things that we can overcome.. Now on to the ninth amendment. The agreement suspends the debt limit until January 2025, allowing the government to borrow unlimited sums to pay its debts and assuring that another fight will not occur before the next presidential election. The bill, which passed the Senate on Thursday, now heads to President Biden's desk for his signature. For them to not even be able to pass a rule without Democratic support is very indicative of how weak a leader he is.. The deal would suspend the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling until January 2025. The bill was passed by the Democrat-controlled state House in a 59-50 vote. All are expected to fail. The bill . The 99-page measure would suspend the $31.4 trillion borrowing limit until January 2025. funding formula that could cause some states to divert dollars from the program. Other policy changes on energy project permitting and work requirements on social benefits were also included. Senators from both parties on Thursday night defended their decision to support the debt ceiling deal, despite their concerns about the legislation. He urged the House to swiftly approve the bill. Great news: Mr. Kennedy has accepted a voice vote on his amendment. They are struggling here, said Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrat of New York, who said the scene gave her flashbacks to January, when Mr. McCarthy didnt succeed in winning the speakership until his 15th try. ET Friday. Were slipping a little 11 minutes, he said. In that case, the Treasury would first pay the bondholders who own U.S. Treasury debt, even if it delayed other financial obligations like government salaries or retirement benefits. Neither the White House nor House Republicans have published a full accounting of the agreements that do not appear in legislative text. The agreement includes new measures to get energy projects approved more quickly by creating a lead agency to oversee reviews and require that they are completed in one to two years. They shouldnt have to compromise their values, and neither should we. hire thousands more employees and update its antiquated technology in last years Inflation Reduction Act. His office said he flew home earlier in the day to attend his son's graduation ceremony and "regrets to miss any vote.". So far, he has managed to avoid both outcomes while claiming some fiscal and policy wins. "Yesterday in Congress" provides easy access to legislation introduced, reported, passed, and considered by the full House or Senate each calendar day. But lifting the debt limit does not actually authorize any new spending in fact, it simply allows the United States to spend money on programs that have already been authorized by Congress. At the center of the compromise legislation is a two-year suspension of the debt ceiling, which would allow the government to continue borrowing money so that it can pay its bills on time. That aint happening. New work requirements for government benefits. The legislation would impose new work requirements on older Americans who receive food stamps through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps, and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Everything else is in flux. Economists and Wall Street analysts warn that such a scenario would be economically devastating, and could plunge the entire world into a financial crisis. Edition. A $1.66 trillion government spending bill drew overwhelming bipartisan support in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday as lawmakers steered it toward passage before a weekend deadline to avoid a partial . commissioner. That dynamic helps explain some of the earlier protestations we saw today on the Senate floor. Overriding a presidential veto would require two-thirds majorities in the House and Senate. Those deals will effectively allow Republicans to claim they are making deep cuts to certain spending categories while allowing Democrats to mitigate the pain of those cuts in actual appropriations bills. Its complicated. Why the budget cuts in the debt ceiling deal are smaller than advertised. By Adrienne Vogt, Allison Morrow, Maureen Chowdhury, Tori B. Powell and Amir Vera, CNN. Jacob Pramuk Key Points The Senate passed a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill Tuesday as Democrats move ahead with their economic agenda. In order to bring the bill to a vote on the Senate floor tonight, both Senators Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader, issued a statement agreeing to work in a bipartisan, collaborative way to avoid this outcome.. I want to know their value statements, and they need to know mine, and we have to find a middle ground, she told reporters, as leaders on Capitol Hill prepared to vote on the legislation on Wednesday. Senate Votes to Pass Debt Ceiling Bill In a 63-to-36 vote, lawmakers agreed to suspend the nation's debt limit and put caps on federal spending for two years. Deciphering Putin's many appearances since mutiny, Why a Japanese horse festival came under fire, 'Instead of saving us they sank the boat', India nurse who delivered more than 10,000 babies, Revellers and reflections: Photos of the week, The surprising truth about frozen fruit. Democrats included $80 billion to help the I.R.S. Those measures temporarily curb certain government investments so that the bills can continue to be paid. Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky offered an amendment with more dramatic spending cuts than those in the bill. 2 Democrat in the House, said at a morning news conference. We refuse to quit or be silenced. One member of the group, Representative Josh Gottheimer, a New Jersey Democrat, wrote on Twitter that his party had ensured the bill would get to the floor for a vote. Unlike an increase, a debt limit suspension gives the Treasury Department leeway to borrow as much as it needs until a specific date. "I look forward to signing this bill into law as soon as possible and addressing the American people directly tomorrow," Mr. Biden said in a statement late Thursday night. Congressional Budget Office has projected. Four Democrats and an independent joined 31 Republicans in voting against the bill. Thats a major shift from where Republicans started negotiations the bill they passed last month would have reduced deficits by $4.8 trillion. The United States officially hit its debt limit on Jan. 19, prompting the Treasury Department to use accounting maneuvers known as extraordinary measures to continue paying the governments obligations and avoid a default. She went on to detail billions of dollars of required cash transfers, expenditures and investments in programs such as the Social Security and Medicare trust funds that will further deplete its cash reserves. This is what it's like to pay a ransom. A New York Times analysis of public descriptions of the agreement finds that the full deficit savings will be only about two-thirds of what is captured in the bill. WASHINGTON The Senate on Thursday night passed the most sweeping gun bill designed to prevent gun violence in decades, a major victory for advocates and a rare defeat for the National Rifle . #NoDeal https://t.co/AzJVqprm9e. Mr. Biden and by extension, Ms. Young have been criticized by some progressive lawmakers who said they gave away too much in search of that compromise. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the debt limit deal will not limit the Senates ability to pass future emergency defense aid packages, including in support of Ukraine. The SNAP and TANF changes include carve-outs for veterans, homeless people and adults up to 24 aging out of foster care. The compromise needed 60 votes to pass. View Available Bill Summaries. We saved the country from the scourge of default even though there were some on the other side of the aisle who wanted to lead the country to default, says Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, beginning a victory lap press conference. But it also contained a number of side deals that never appear in its text but that were crucial to forging the bipartisan compromise, and that allowed both sides to claim they had gotten what they wanted out of it. However, two-thirds of Senate Republicans opposed the legislation, and all of those who backed it - except for Alaska's Lisa Murkowski and Indiana's Todd Young - will not face voters in November this year or have announced their intention not to seek re-election. 2 Republicans, are voting for the bill, but the No. In a 63-to-36 vote, lawmakers agreed to suspend the nation's debt limit and put caps on federal spending for two years. Vice President Harris cast the tie-breaking vote in favor of the legislation. I look forward to signing this bill into law as soon as possible and addressing the American people directly tomorrow, Biden says. In addition to suspending the debt limit through January 1, 2025, the bill caps non-defense spending,expands work requirements for some food stamp recipients and claws back some Covid-19 relief funds. The bipartisan legislation the House passed on Wednesday to suspend the debt ceiling and impose spending caps contains an arcane but important provision aimed at forcing both sides to follow through on the deal struck by President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Unlike the Senate vote Thursday . Abbott vetoed almost 30 bills on Sunday, bringing the total this session to 76, which is the second highest in state history. The bill needs 51 votes to pass the Senate. "I wanted to do something no other Congress has done, that we would literally turn the ship and for the first time in quite some time, we'd spend less than we spent the year before. Schumer is crowing that in both the House and Senate, more Democrats voted for the bill than Republicans. Thats probably the floor of what the spending caps will translate to, in terms of spending cuts. The irony, of course, is that, in the context of trying to reduce the deficit, significantly cutting back on the I.R.S. After accounting for all its spending limits and related accounting tricks, The New York Times estimates the agreement will actually reduce discretionary spending by about $55 billion next year, compared with baseline forecasts, and by another $81 billion in 2025. Under current law, those work requirements only apply to people age 18 to 49. The Senate is voting on final passage of the debt limit deal now. But Republicans balked at the agreement, and 52 Democrats ultimately voted for the rule to advance the bill. Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who is widely tipped to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2024,condemned the bill as an attempt to "try to disarm law-abiding citizens rather than take serious measures to protect our children".. On Thursday night, Mr. Biden cheered its passage, promising to sign the measure as soon as possible and address the nation from the Oval Office on Friday evening. The Congressional Budget Office estimated on Tuesday that the overall changes would make an additional 78,000 people eligible for nutrition assistance. On the concessions made by the White House to get to a deal, Welch said, I don't like any of them, but the good news is we preserved and protected all of the big initiatives of the Biden administration in the last year. This is the last amendment vote of the evening, Mr. Kennedy said, as a single senator loudly applauded. Schumer is trying to keep the Senate on a very tight schedule to move rapidly through these votes. On Wednesday, it appeared in danger of failing again when nearly 30 Republicans voted against a procedural measure that allowed the bill to move ahead to a final vote, but Democrats stepped in to provide the needed votes. However, it is not clear how much the United States will have to borrow to pay its bills over the next two years because the nations funding requirements depend on how much tax revenue is coming in. The Treasury secretary is authorized to employ the same kinds of accounting maneuvers, or extraordinary measures, that the current secretary, Janet L. Yellen, has been using this year to conserve cash and delay a default. Why does the United States have a debt limit? Republicans claim a much higher total spending cut: $2.1 trillion over a decade. The Senate adopted the bill, known as the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, by a bipartisan vote of 63 to 36. The Hawley amendment is absolutely crushed with just 17 yes votes. Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen issued a statement on Thursday night after the Senate passed a debt limit bill, averting a national default. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. There are an estimated 393 million firearms currently in the US. In the Senate, all 50 Democrats, including the party's most conservative members, Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, voted for the bill. Ms. Yellen had previously said the nation could hit the so-called X-date the moment when it does not have enough money to pay all of its bills on time as soon as June 1. President Biden has pushed for bigger reforms - including a ban on assault weapons, which were used in the Texas and Buffalo mass shootings - or at least an increase in the age at which they can be purchased. Somebody has to be the grownups in the room and it sure is not the Republicans., Sanders, who has said he would vote against the bill, said it was not a good deal.. 3 Republican, John Barrasso of Wyoming, is opposed. Representative Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, a Republican who helped lead the negotiations, said on Wednesday that $1.4 billion cut this year represents the full enforcement budget for the I.R.S. The Senate has become notoriously slow in voting in the post-Covid era, sometimes taking hours to complete a single vote. The legislation takes aim at one of President Bidens biggest priorities bolstering the I.R.S. In the end, she said with a slight smile, the overall number of people required to work will stay about the same. The national debt crossed $31 trillion for the first time last year. These amendments are all a matter of political messaging in which the authors hope to put Democrats on the spot politically. The clawback, part of a compromise to suspend the federal borrowing limit, would deal a blow to a top Biden administration priority: Cracking down on rich tax cheats. But in the end, he delivered an agreement that met his goal of cutting spending from current levels. While the debt limit was created to make government run more smoothly, many policymakers believe that it has become more trouble than its worth. But last week, Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen gave a firm date: June 5. It is very convivial on the Senate floor right now with senators chatting with their colleagues. The last significant federal gun control legislation was passed in 1994, banning the manufacture for civilian use of assault rifles and large capacity magazines - but it expired a decade later. Pinned Emily Cochrane Senate passes the climate, health and tax bill, with all Republicans opposed. Bipartisan debt limit bill heads to President Biden's desk, Schumer touts passage of debt ceiling bill: 'We are not defaulting', Biden praises debt ceiling bill passage as a 'bipartisan compromise'. Some of that money will be repurposed to boost nondefense discretionary spending. A major bipartisan gun safety bill passes in the Senate 02:28 - Source: CNN Trump called out Alyssa Farah Griffin on Fox. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the bill well ahead of Monday's debt ceiling deadline, bringing an end to months of negotiations over paying the nation's bills. The bill officially puts an end to Mr. Bidens freeze on student loan repayments by the end of August and restricts his ability to reinstate such a moratorium. Those future changes, which the White House is calling agreed-upon adjustments, and which many observers have called side deals or even gimmicks, would increase federal spending in unconventional ways and then direct that money into the part of the budget that the current bill cuts the deepest. That vote is over! The debt limit agreement struck by President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy includes a provision that would require borrowers to begin repaying their loans again by the end of the summer after a yearslong pause imposed during the coronavirus pandemic. And so Im happy to stand here passing this critical legislation to support our families, preserve vital programs, and, most importantly, avoid catastrophic default.. "I thank my colleagues for the good work tonight," Schumer said. Even fellow Republicans were dismissive. Because the federal government runs budget deficits meaning it spends more than it brings in through taxes and other revenue it must borrow huge sums of money to pay its bills. Most of that savings, though, comes in the last eight years of the decade, after the caps lift. Historically, efforts to strengthen US gun laws have been blocked by the Republican party. The next amendment is from Senator Josh Hawley, who would impose new tariffs on China until the U.S. trade deficit with China is eliminated. The gunman in the Texas shooting is believed to have purchased two semi-automatic rifles days after turning 18. But the Democratic support only added to some Republicans skepticism of the deal Mr. McCarthy had cut. Wally Adeyemo, the deputy Treasury secretary, said on Twitter that the I.R.S. Now more than a fourth of its $80 billion infusion of funds could be disappearing. The budget office also offered a score of the bill just based on the two enforceable years of caps. money and include an understanding that the tax collection agency will see its annual budgets reduced by $20 billion over the next two years. While most lawmakers in the House vote electronically allowing observers in the chamber to immediately see how they are voting in real time the Senate is old-fashioned and votes manually, with either a hand gesture or a verbal yes or no. He said his "biggest concern" is that there is no default. Treasury systems have all been built to pay all of our bills when theyre due and on time, and not to prioritize one form of spending over another, Ms. Yellen told reporters earlier this year. Sahil Kapur is a senior national political reporter for NBC News. No one gets everything they want in a negotiation, but make no mistake: This bipartisan agreement is a big win for our economy and the American people., As in the House, Democrats carried the measure to passage in the Senate, with 44 of them and two independents joining 17 Republicans in support; 31 Republicans, four Democrats and one independent voted no.. ", Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., championed the bill as "an urgent and important step in the right direction for the health of our economy and the future of our country.". The US Congress has passed a gun control bill - the most significant firearms legislation in nearly 30 years. The bill came after mass shootings last month at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, and a primary school in Uvalde, Texas, that left 31 people dead. Ms. Yellen has said that such an approach would not avoid a debt default in the eyes of markets. It advanced by just one vote out of theHouse Rules Committee on Tuesday with two conservatives voting against allowing it to move forward. The debt limit fight left McCarthy with victories and wounds. Senator John Kennedy, Republican of Louisiana, will bring us home with one last amendment vote ahead of final passage. The debt limit agreement would immediately rescind $1.38 billion of that money and ultimately repurpose another $20 billion. It ultimately passed in a late-night 65-33 vote. Critics point out that the president promised not to allow anything in the bill that would increase poverty, but nonetheless agreed to new work requirements for some people who receive food stamps. Democrats scaled back the legislation, which appeared dead just weeks ago, and rebranded it. Schumer celebrated that the US has avoided default as a result of the vote and the bill now heads to President Joe Bidens desk to be signed. This is proceeding at lightning speed by Senate standards. This demanded a bipartisan solution. Whats the difference? Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, is objecting to the way the automatic spending cuts would kick in if lawmakers fail to pass their spending bills.