House votes to pass debt-free bill

The House of Representative began voting Wednesday on the deal, which was struck by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden in a bid to avoid a catastrophic U.S. default.

Both groups said they had enough votes to pass and send the bill to the Senate before the June 5 default deadline.

Hours earlier, the House voted 241 - 187 to take a procedural step needed to consider the measure. However, McCarthy needed votes from Democrats to counter 29 Republican no votes, underscoring the divide within his own party over the legislation.

The compromise drew opposition from lawmakers on the flanks of both sides as the vote loomed heavily.

Biden, McCarthy and their lieutenants have worked the phones since finalizing the deal Saturday night to build a large enough coalition of moderates to muster the requisite 218 votes for passage in the House.

I think things are going as planned, he told reporters at the White House. God willing, God willing, by the time I land, Congress will have acted, the House will have acted, and we ll be one step closer. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, a Republican, said he ssures the votes are in hand. It's going to pass, he said.

The bill will go to the Senate next year, where conservatives may force days of debate. But John Thune, the Senate's No. 2 candidate, said the bill would be defeated if it passed the vote. There could be a deal that could pass the bill by Friday night, said Republican Rep. Bill Clinton, a Republican.

The bill would set the course for federal spending for the next two years and suspension the debt ceiling until Jan. 1, 2025, postponing another clash over borrowing until after the presidential election.

In exchange for Republican votes for the suspension, Democrats agreed to cap federal spending for the next two years. The White House is telling lawmakers that the plan would lower spending by about $1 trillion in the next decade, while the Republicans argue that the spending cut is double that.

The National Committee of the Congressional Budget Office forecast on Tuesday that the bill would cut deficits by $1.5 trillion over 10 years.