US debt deal approved by House, Senate still to vote
First stage of vote to lift US debt limit passed.
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The US Congress has passed a $US2.4 trillion debt-ceiling increase by a higher than expected majority of 269 votes to 161.
A Senate vote -- also expected to be passed -- will follow on Tuesday, giving President Barack Obama time to raise the debt limit just before the US government would begin defaulting on its obligations.
Both liberals and conservatives were upset by parts of the deal. Democratic and Republican party leaders spent Monday trying to get them on board.
Lawmakers and other officials raised questions about how the complicated agreement will unfold in the coming months, such as who will sit on a key deficit-cutting congressional committee and whether that panel can raise taxes.
The Treasury Department has said for months that the government would begin running out of money to pay bills on Tuesday if the government's $US14.29 trillion borrowing limit wasn't increased.
In the vote, 95 Democrats joined 66 Republicans to oppose the rare bill, which was endorsed by both House Speaker John Boehner (Republican) and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Democrat).
The margin was bigger than expected, as Democrats split evenly but Republicans voted by a wide margin for the bill.
In a last-minute drama, Gabrielle Giffords, the Democrat Representative from Arizona who was badly wounded by a gunman in January, returned to cast her first vote -- a yes -- since the shooting. She was greeted by loud applause from her colleagues.
Members of both parties said a debt-ceiling increase had to be accompanied by spending cuts, but they couldn't agree on the scope of those cuts.
Nevil Gibson
Tue, 02 Aug 2011
Tue, 02 Aug 2011
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US debt deal approved by House, Senate still to vote
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