WASHINGTON — A bill that suspends the debt ceiling until Jan. 2025, restarts student loan payments and changes work requirements for some older Americans receiving benefits from programs like SNAP and TANF passed the U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday evening.
If the U.S. had not changed the debt ceiling and defaulted, experts warned an immediate economic crisis could ensue. The White House said on May 3 that the longer that the U.S. defaulted on debt, the more devastating an impact failing to raise the debt ceiling could have had.
With the House vote of 314-117, the bill now heads to the Senate with passage expected by week's end. Next Monday is when the Treasury has said the U.S. would run short of money to pay its debts.
Both Representatives Tim Burchett (R - TN) and Diana Harshbarger (R - TN) voted against it. Burchett released a statement, saying that did not go far enough to cut spending. His full statement is available below.
"I voted against the last bill to raise the debt ceiling, and this one is a lot worse. It still runs a deficit and doesn't do nearly enough to address the out-of-control spending that got us into this mess in the first place.
"East Tennesseeans could see it too. My constituents have been calling me about this, and the overwhelming majority told me not to vote for it. I chose to listen to them and follow my conscience on this one."
Representative Chuck Fleischmann (R - TN) voted to pass the bill, calling it "the largest deficit reduction bill in U.S. history." His full statement is available below.
"Everyone in America knows that Washington has an out-of-control spending problem that has led to our nation being close to $32 trillion in debt. Like all Americans, I am extremely concerned about our nation’s growing debt and deficit, and I came to Congress to work to get our fiscal house back in order. That is why I voted to pass the Fiscal Responsibility Act – the largest spending cut in our nation’s history, saving taxpayers over $2 trillion in six years. For the first time in a decade, Congress will spend less money than the year before.
“For close to 100 days, President Biden and the Democrat majority in the Senate refused to negotiate with House Republicans on needed reforms to restore our country’s fiscal health. I am proud that we did not back down and forced the president to the negotiating table to work with us to cut spending, enact the most significant work requirements for welfare in a generation, stop $5 trillion in new taxes and federal mandates, slash red tape holding up critical energy infrastructure projects, claw back billions in unspent COVID slush funds, and defund the IRS’ army of new agents. We accomplished all of these historic reforms while increasing defense spending by $28 billion and fully protecting Social Security, Medicare, and veteran’s health care and benefits.
“The Fiscal Responsibility Act is a historic win for America, our economy, and fiscal sanity. This bill shows what Republicans can deliver for the American People with just the slimmest majority in the House of Representatives. To build on these historic reforms, we must retake the Senate and the White House and grow our House majority in 2024 to continue putting America back on the road to economic prosperity and a debt-free future for our children and grandchildren.”
Overall, the 99-page bill restricts spending for the next two years, suspends the debt ceiling into January 2025 and changes some policies, including imposing new work requirements for older Americans receiving food aid and greenlighting an Appalachian natural gas line that many Democrats oppose. It bolsters funds for defense and veterans.