Senate Temporarily Raises Debt Limit to Avoid Government Shutdown

Politics

By Alyssa Wilson Published: October 8, 2021

Senate Temporarily Raises Debt Limit to Avoid Government Shutdown

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., center, speaks during a news conference with Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., left, and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

In Summary

The Senate voted to end the filibuster in order to raise the debt limit temporarily until December.

The Senate voted on Thursday to temporarily raise the debt limit by $480 billion until a new deadline of December 3, 2021.

According to ABC News, this news comes after the GOP filibuster was broken with a 61-38 vote. Eleven Republicans voted with the Democrats to end it, allowing the debt limit to be raised with a 50-48 majority.

The 11 Republicans who voted to end the filibuster and advance the debt ceiling vote were Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell along with Senators Richard Shelby, Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, Roy Blunt, Rob Portman, John Thune, Mike Rounds, John Cornyn, Shelly Moore Capito and John Barrasso.

No Republicans voted with Democrats to raise the debt ceiling. Although it passed in the Senate, the House must approve the measure before President Joe Biden can sign off.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House may need to return early from recess, which was supposed to run until October 19. It is one day after the deadline Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned would be the day money ran out and a government shutdown would begin.

PREVIOUS: Americans Brace for Potential Government Shutdown

If the House and President Biden miss the October deadline, the government shutdown could impact many sectors including Social Security payments, a halt on benefits for veterans and rising rates on credit cards, loans and mortgages.

According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, other programs like Medicare, environmental and food inspection, air travel, Health and Human Services, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) all will be affected.

Under the administration of former President Donald Trump, the last government shutdown was the longest in the United States’ history, lasting 35 days. According to NPR, nearly 800,000 federal workers were on furlough, mortgages were held up and many people started 2019 without the necessary funding they needed from the government.