Hoyer: House will vote to avoid debt default, shutdown next week
The House will vote next week on a measure to stave off a U.S. debt default, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Friday, although it’s unclear if Democrats will pair that with a stopgap funding bill to avoid a government shutdown on Oct. 1.
Hoyer confirmed in a letter to colleagues that the party will look to suspend the cap on how much money the government can borrow, rather than increase that figure outright. Both parties have been far more willing to support a suspension than a hike in recent years, since it gives lawmakers some cover from the political blowback that could follow.
The Maryland Democrat didn’t provide a timeline for the length of the planned suspension, which amounts to hitting pause on the often-volatile debt issue. If Democrats choose to vote on a stand-alone debt measure, it would force Republicans to go on the record after both parties agreed to suspend the debt ceiling just two years ago as part of a budget deal with then-President Donald Trump.
Decoupling government funding from the debt limit would leave many Republicans more willing to back a short-term government funding bill that includes billions of dollars in disaster aid for hurricane-battered red states across the southeast, which was requested by President Joe Biden.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/hoyer-house-will-vote-to-avoid-debt-default-shutdown-next-week/ar-AAOywqK
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