Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Thursday evening said the Senate would pass a crucial debt-ceiling bill in a matter of hours after addressing proposed amendments.
“I am pleased, so pleased, to announce that both sides have just locked in an agreement that enables the Senate to pass legislation tonight avoiding default,” the New York Democrat said in a floor speech.
The Fiscal Responsibility Act, which the Republican-run House of Representatives approved on Wednesday night in a 314-117 vote, aims to raise the ceiling for federal borrowing and avoid a market-shaking government default while limiting spending.
President Joe Biden is expected to sign the bill into law without delay. Biden said in a statement Wednesday that the Democratic-controlled Senate should “pass it as quickly as possible so that I can sign it into law.”
Congress has been racing to approve the bipartisan debt-limit legislation to meet the Treasury Department’s Monday deadline, and investors have been tracking the debt-ceiling drama closely.
In August 2011, lawmakers approved an increase to the debt limit just hours before a potential government default, and the U.S. then lost its triple-A credit rating from S&P, sparking a stock-market
SPX,
plunge during that month.
Schumer said the Senate first would vote on 10 Republican amendments and one Democratic amendment, and then the chamber would move on to “immediately considering final passage — and by passing this bill, we will avoid default tonight.” None of the amendments is expected to get sufficient support.
COMP,
closed higher Thursday, helped in part by Washington’s progress on the debt-ceiling increase.
This story originally appeared on Marketwatch
