House Passes Legislation to Pave Way for Debt Ceiling Increase

The proposal is enshrined in law that would postpone planned cuts in Medicare, agricultural aid and other mandatory spending programs that should come into effect next year. Once this bill goes into effect, New York Senator Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, would pass a separate law to raise the debt ceiling. That is expected to happen with only Democratic votes in the 50-50 Senate, where Vice President Kamala Harris is empowered to sever ties.

“The Democrats have always said that we are ready to bear the burden of 50 votes to achieve this as long as it is not a complicated or risky process,” said Schumer. “Leader McConnell and I achieved that.”

McConnell and ten Republicans agreed in October to allow the Senate to raise the debt limit at short notice, which was eventually passed with Democratic votes. But some of these Senators – including Mr. McConnell in a damning letter to Mr. Biden – warned that they would not give in again.

But in November, Mr. McConnell and Mr. Schumer began to quietly discuss alternatives.

“I am confident that this particular process, coupled with avoiding Medicare cuts, will generate enough Republican support to break the 60-vote threshold,” said McConnell, predicting a vote for the Senate bill Thursday.

That would require ten Republicans to work with the Democrats to drive the measure, a prospect McConnell discussed with members of his party over lunch on Tuesday afternoon. Some Republicans have questioned this, arguing that the passage of new laws to allow the debt ceiling to hike faster would set a new and worrying precedent.

Senator Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican from West Virginia, said she would have preferred if members of her party had agreed to allow Democrats to raise the debt ceiling by majority vote. “But we have recalcitrant members who don’t,” she admitted, adding that she had not yet made up her mind how she would vote.

McConnell and his allies have tried to convince their Republican counterparts that provisions that prevent planned cuts to Medicare and other programs make the legislation worthwhile. But it was not enough for the overwhelming majority of their Republican colleagues in the House.