The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a bill to increase the nation’s borrowing limit in the short term to avert a looming debt default, sending it to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature.
The House voted 219-206 along party lines to adopt a procedural rule, which automatically deemed as passed the short-term debt limit extension that the Senate approved last week.
The temporary measure would raise the federal government’s debt limit by 480 billion U.S. dollars, which would allow the U.S. Treasury Department to meet obligations through Dec. 3.
The congressional approval of the temporary measure came as Congress faces an Oct. 18 deadline to take action. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently warned that lawmakers have until this date to raise or suspend the debt limit before the federal government will likely run out of cash and extraordinary measures, possibly leading the United States to default on the national debt.
Another stopgap measure to fund the federal government also expires on Dec. 3, meaning Democrats and Republicans will have to reach a deal by early December to avoid the twin threats of a shutdown and a default.
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