With a vote of 314-117, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation on Wednesday to raise the debt ceiling as part of a mad dash to avoid a federal government default next week.
The deal was reached over the weekend between the White House and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. It suspends the debt ceiling until 2025, limits the growth in government spending, cuts funding for the IRS and implements new work requirements on social safety net programs.
Republicans pushed for hardline cuts to federal spending and sweeping changes to social safety net programs but didn’t exactly get the job done. For example, the White House is projecting the net impact of the work requirement changes will mean fewer people on food stamps will face work requirements.
Like with Alaska’s budget process, the deal saw the support among House Republicans fracture, with about a third of House Republicans voting against the agreement. That the votes of Democrats, including Alaska’s U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, to pass the deal just as the Republican-led Alaska House did with this year’s budget.
In a prepared statement, Rep. Peltola said the deal wasn’t ideal, but it was better than the fallout of a federal default.
“This deal isn’t perfect, but it’s far better than a default,” she said. “I’ve been calling for talks to prevent an economic crisis and protect vital programs like Social Security from the beginning, and I’m glad that both parties were finally able to agree on a bill that avoids a disastrous default without devastating cuts to other services that Alaskans rely on.”
She also lauded provisions of the bill that will speed up permitting around energy projects but said it’s essential that Congress find a better way to address the debt ceiling in the future.
“However, while I’m relieved that we were able to avoid disaster this time, it’s clear that we can’t keep governing this way,” she said. “We need to be able to talk to each other and cooperate without the threat of economic collapse.”
The deal has yet to be finalized as it now heads to the Senate for consideration. Leadership has urged lawmakers to refrain from making changes, which would force the bill back to the House and push the country closer to a default.
Matt Acuña Buxton is a long-time political reporter who has written for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and The Midnight Sun political blog. He also authors the daily politics newsletter, The Alaska Memo, and can frequently be found live-tweeting public meetings on Twitter.
