Spending Deal Would Avert Debt Ceiling Crisis
The Senate is expected to vote this week on a plan to increase the debt ceiling and lift caps on federal spending. The measure would then go to President Donald Trump, who has indicated he supports it.
Last week, the House of Representatives passed the proposal with a 284-149 vote, before lawmakers left Washington, D.C. for a six-week recess. The Senate plans to adjourn at the end of this week.
The agreement would allow lawmakers to spend roughly $1.37 trillion in each of the next two fiscal years, an increase of roughly $320 billion each year. The federal budget deficit is expected to top $1 trillion this year. The agreement also suspends, for two years, the cap on the amount the federal government may borrow. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had warned the government could hit the debt ceiling by early September, which could have forced it to default.
This deal is just the beginning of the spending process. When lawmakers return after Labor Day, they need to reach an agreement on 12 spending bills to fund the government over the next fiscal year, which begins October 1. The House has already marked up all 12 bills. The Senate hasn’t taken any of them up, but Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) said that process will begin in September.