Congress Sends Bill to Obama Averting Gov’t Default

Congress sent President Barack Obama drama-free legislation on Thursday raising the debt ceiling, averting a government default and putting off the next tax-and-spending clash between the White House and Republicans until later in the year.

The measure cleared the Senate on a vote of 64-34 after winning House approval late last week. It permits the Treasury to borrow above the current $16.4 trillion debt limit through May 18. The White House has said Obama will sign it.

“Failure to pass this bill will set off an unpredictable financial panic that would plunge not only the United States but much of the world back into recession,” Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), said before the vote.

But Republican leader Mitch McConnell’s said in remarks on the Senate floor that “government spending is completely out of control — and it’s projected to get much worse in years to come.” His office issued a statement shortly after the vote saying he had opposed the legislation after Democrats torpedoed several GOP attempts to rein in spending before final passage.

The legislation reflects a switch in strategy by Republicans, whose insistence on deep spending cuts as a trade-off for a higher debt limit more than a year ago pushed the government to the brink of an unprecedented default. With polls showing their public support lagging, they now look ahead to a new season of potential showdowns, with a reshuffled batting order that moves the threat of a default to the back of a line that includes March 1 across-the-board spending cuts and the March 27 expiration of funding for most federal agencies.

The debt limit measure came with one string attached by House Republicans, a provision that would temporarily withhold the pay of lawmakers in either house that failed to produce a budget this year.

This article appeared in print on page 2 of the February 1st, 2013 edition of Hamodia.