Debt Ceiling Drama Heads Down to Wire in Senate

Now, the Senate is racing against the clock to pass the debt ceiling bill and avoid economically catastrophic default to pay the country’s bills. 

What is the Complete News?

With just a few days left, the Senate is now racing to pass the bipartisan debt ceiling agreement and prevent what would be an economically catastrophic failure. 

On Thursday morning, the debate on the bill began. As the chamber’s leaders swiftly passed the Fiscal Responsibility Act, some critics showed concern about the bill. Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer, made a statement that the Senate does not have time if we want to avoid default. 

He added 5 June is four days away, and any last-minute delay at this point would be unnecessary and even dangerous. In the evening, the Senate deliberated, and on the other hand, lawmakers offered amendments to give assurances in exchange for limiting time for votes. 

Later Thursday, Schumer announced that voting would begin soon. It could be either before or around midnight. However, none of the Senators looked set to pass, but they were allowed to register their differences with the debt bill. 

Schumer said if we pass the bill now, we will avoid the default, and America could breathe a sigh of relief. 

No Delays

If the bill has to get to President Joe Biden desk by Monday, there is no room for delay as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned that the US could run out of money. And it would become difficult to pay all the bills on time. 

However, it is supposed to be a three-day weekend for senators for faster actions. It is essential that a vote could happen as early as Thursday night, but it requires the entire chamber’s cooperation. 

No Changes

Initially, holding up the process of voting could be time-consuming, as amendments are being sought by various lawmakers, Republicans, and some Democrats. 

One of the Senators, Lindsey Graham, made a statement that we’ll be present here until we get commitments about the rectification of some of the problems. 

With the level of military spending in the bill, defense Hawks, along with Graham, spoke out about their frustration. They claimed any changes on the bill now would force it to be sent back to the House for approval, which only resulted in getting closer to the default deadline. 

And Schumer said that we would do everything to move the bill forward and don’t have enough time to return anything to the House. We need to avoid any default, he added. On the other hand, Mitch McConnell, Minority Leader, also has similar words to say. 

She said time is of the essence. McConnell said if voting is done on time, so we could finish this by Thursday or Friday and soothe the country and market. 

What’s Next?

Chamber leaders scrambled to have lawmakers voting on final passage by Thursday night. Lawmakers claimed that possibly 10 to 12 amendments could be voted on. Whip John Thune said it would be possible to complete it by Friday. 

If Republicans got half a dozen votes, even the GOP couldn’t stop the passage of the debt ceiling deal. As some Senators are in favor and some are against, it appears that there would be a general agreement on the bottom line. 

If there is any change in the bill, it would be returned to the House for approval, causing the country to face an uncertain fate.