Republicans and Democrats in Congress have agreed on a plan to break a partisan impasse and raise the government’s debt ceiling likely through next year, pulling the nation away from the brink of a default, Bloomberg News reported. Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) said yesterday that the deal he struck with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) would enable a procedural maneuver to increase the government’s borrowing authority with only Democratic votes. The plan, which was moving toward a House vote on Tuesday, would create a procedure to raise the debt ceiling with a simple majority in the Senate as part of a bill to prevent automatic Medicare cuts at the start of the new year. Once that passes, the 50-50 Senate would later act on the debt ceiling, sending that legislation to the House. Democratic senators said they are discussing an increase to allow borrowing through 2022, something that would take about a $2 trillion increase, according to an aide. The maneuver involves a bit of procedural gimmickry: The bill setting up the debt limit process would need 10 Republican votes in the Senate to advance, but does not itself raise the debt limit. A second bill raising the ceiling then could be passed with just Democratic votes.
