US House passes debt ceiling bill

Washington: As US lawmakers raced to prevent a catastrophic default, the House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed a bill to suspend the country's debt limit through January 1, 2025.

The debt ceiling is a spending limit set by US Congress which determines how much money the government can borrow. Failure to raise it beyond the current cap of roughly $31.4 trillion by June could result in the US defaulting on its debt. That would mean the government could not borrow any more money or pay all of its bills and also threaten to wreak havoc on the global economy, affecting prices and mortgage rates in other countries.

On Wednesday night, 149 Republicans and 165 Democrats voted for the bill and 71 Republicans and 46 Democrats voted against it, reports CNN.

The final tally for the vote was 314 to 117. The legislation bill will next need to be passed by the Senate before it can be sent to President Joe Biden to be signed into law.In the Senate, any one law maker can delay a swift vote and it is not yet clear when a final vote will take place.

Lawmakers are racing the clock to avert a first-ever default ahead of June 5, the date the Treasury Department has said it will no longer be able to pay all of the country's obligations in full and on time, a scenario that could trigger global economic catastrophe. Taking to Twitter late Wednesday, President Biden said: "Tonight, the House took a critical step forward to prevent a first-ever default and protect our country's hard-earned and historic economic recovery.