Senate approves debt ceiling bill, narrowly avoiding default

On Thursday night, the Senate approved the debt ceiling bill with 63 votes in favor and 36 votes against it. Both parties acknowledged that although the deal negotiated by both House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden was far from perfect, it was necessary to avoid a catastrophic default.

The upper House had moved towards the final passage of the debt ceiling bill on Thursday to avoid a looming default after the House cleared it on Wednesday night. With the government likely to run out of money to pay its bills on Monday, the Senate took into account a series of proposed changes to the agreement before the final vote.

The Senate was under tremendous pressure to approve the bill Monday, when Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen forecast the federal government would run out of funds. All 100 senators reached an agreement to debate up to 11 amendments and then quickly vote on passing the legislation, Reuters reported.

Among the failed amendments included one from Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, who sought to strike a provision in the bill that fast-tracks construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline to carry natural gas from West Virginia to Virginia, CBS News reported. Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky proposed a bill with more dramatic cuts compared to those in the bill.

CBS News reported earlier this week that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed to keep the Senate in session to pass the bill as soon as possible, and said members should plan to stay in Washington over the weekend for a possible vote.

Both Schumer and McConnell called for a quick resolution, stressing the importance of avoiding default.

The House passed the debt ceiling deal on Wednesday with a total of 314 votes in favor of the bill and 117 votes against it. The Democrats voted for the bill, with 46 voted against it. During the same time, 149 Republicans supported the bill while 71 voted against it. Joe Biden had urged the Senate to pass the bill as quickly as possible.

Dalio Shrugs off Debt Ceiling Deal but Praises Bipartisanship: The Middle held together versus The Extremists.