United States
US House of Representatives approves debt ceiling increase
Nancy Pelosi (M), Speaker of the US House of Representatives, arrives for a meeting in the Capitol. Photo: J. Scott Applewhite / AP / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
After fierce trench warfare in the US House of Representatives, the Democrats and Republicans are still preventing the impending default – but it is only a temporary solution.
With the approval of the House of Representatives to an increase in the debt ceiling, an impending default by the US government is temporarily averted.
The Chamber of Parliament joined on Tuesday evening (local time) with a majority of Democrats on a corresponding proposal from the Senate from last week. This is to increase the debt limit by 480 billion US dollars (just under 416 billion euros) in order to give the government financial leeway at least until the beginning of December. US President Joe Biden has yet to sign the law.
An impending payment default, which would probably have catastrophic economic consequences, has only been postponed. An agreement on how to proceed from December is not yet in sight.
The now decided interim solution was preceded by a violent dispute between Democrats and Republicans. The Democrats wanted to temporarily suspend the debt ceiling or raise it significantly. The Republicans opposed this, however. The struggle for a long-term solution should soon be back on the agenda.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had warned of a possible financial crisis and recession should the US government fail to service its debts for the first time. According to your ministry, the US would have run out of money by October 18.