Senate Passes Debt Limit Deal: Bill Heads to Biden

The U.S. Senate voted 63-36 on Thursday evening to pass a debt limit bill that cleared the U.S. House of Representatives only one day before. The bill will now head to President Joe Biden, who is expected to sign the bill into law on Friday.

The rapid approval followed months of contentious haggling between Republicans and Democrats over whether to allow the U.S. government to borrow more in order to pay the debts that Congress has already promised to spend. The debt limit does not prevent the legislators from passing spending bills exceeding the limit, but rather limits the ability of the government to meet those debt obligations.

Both parties have claimed success in the negotiations and eventual outcome of the debt limit agreement, with economic analysts forecasting that, had an agreement not been reached, could have created havoc on the U.S. and world economies.