WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A sharply divided U.S. Senate failed on Monday to advance a measure to suspend the federal debt ceiling and avoid a partial government shutdown, as Republican lawmakers denied the bill the votes necessary to move forward.
President Joe Biden’s Democrats were unable to pass legislation that would confront two fast-approaching deadlines that, if left unaddressed, threaten to destabilize the U.S. economy as it struggles to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Republicans secured enough “no” votes to prevent the measure from advancing under Senate rules requiring 60 of the chamber’s 100 members to approve most legislation. Voting was still going on.
Democrats who narrowly control both chambers of Congress now have just three days to find another way to keep the government operating beyond Thursday – when current funding expires.
Lawmakers also will have to figure out how to raise the debt ceiling to head off the risk of default, with independent analysts warning that the U.S. Treasury Department is likely to exhaust its borrowing authority fully sometime between Oct. 15 and Nov. 4.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer warned that a default would hammer the economy. He has not said what his next move would be if the Monday vote fails.
“Republicans are intentionally making default more likely,” he said on the Senate floor before the vote.
A government shutdown – or worse, a default – would be a huge hit to Biden’s Democrats, who have positioned themselves as the party of responsible government after Republican Donald Trump’s chaotic presidency.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said he would try to force the chamber to vote for a funding extension, separate from the provision that would suspend the government’s $28.4 trillion debt limit through the end of 2022. That is not expected to succeed.
“We could have a bipartisan vote to fund the government today, if not for the odd tactics of the Senate Democratic leader,” he said on the Senate floor.
Republicans have said they want Democrats to lift the debt limit on their own, saying they do not support their upcoming spending plans. Democrats point out that much of the nation’s new debt was incurred during Trump’s administration.
INFRASTRUCTURE TIMING UNCLEAR
Democrats are also at odds over two pillars of Biden’s domestic agenda – a $1 trillion infrastructure bill and a $3.5 trillion social spending package.
The rift risks derailing Biden’s presidency and the party’s hopes of keeping its congressional majorities in next year’s midterm elections.
Biden spent the weekend negotiating with lawmakers over the phone, according to administration officials. The White House and Democrats in Congress were considering whether to narrow benefits for electric vehicles and community-college tuition in the social spending bill, sources said.
Biden told reporters that Democrats might not reach an agreement this week, an assessment backed by the Senate’s No. 2 Democrat, Dick Durbin.
“I don’t think anybody has a rosy scenario,” Durbin told reporters.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi delayed a vote on the infrastructure legislation until Thursday, rather than the previously agreed Monday, to provide more time to broker an agreement on Biden’s more sweeping social plan. She is due to preside over a party meeting on Monday evening.
The infrastructure bill, which moderates favor, would fund road, bridge, airport, school and other projects. It passed the Senate last month with considerable Republican support.
But progressive Democrats have threatened to oppose the infrastructure measure unless moderates in both the House and Senate agree to the larger package, which Democrats intend to pass without Republican votes.
Moderate Democrats say the social spending bill’s $3.5 trillion price tag is too high, and Democrats including Pelosi have acknowledged it will need to be scaled back to pass.
Biden’s efforts to expand healthcare and education, reduce child poverty, and fight climate change hang in the balance.
(Reporting by David Morgan and Richard Cowan; Additional reporting by Susan Cornwell, Jarrett Renshaw and Susan Heavey; Writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Scott Malone, Jonathan Oatis and Peter Cooney)
Comments