- The House, in a largely symbolic vote, rejected a bill (H.R. 1954) to raise the limit on federal borrowing by $2.406 trillion.
The House, in a largely symbolic vote, rejected a bill (H.R. 1954) to raise the limit on federal borrowing by $2.406 trillion. The vote was 97-318 with 236 Republicans and 82 Democrats voting against the increase. All of the 97 votes in favor of the bill were by Democrats.
“Today we're making clear that Republicans will not accept an increase in the nation's debt limit without substantial spending cuts and real budgetary reforms,” said Rep. Camp, R-Mch., chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. “This vote, a vote based on legislation I've introduced, will and must fail.”
Since May 16, the debt that is subject to the congressionally-approved limit has been only $25 million below the $14.294 trillion limit. The Treasury Dept. has made “accounting moves” to keep below the limit, but it has said the room gained by those moves will run out around Aug. 2. That date could change based on new data on revenue and spending, and Treasury has said it will provide updates in the first week of each month until the debt ceiling is boosted.
