WASHINGTON
The US House of Representatives has passed a bill to increase the government's borrowing limit, and waive the US$17.2 trillion debt limit until March 2015.
The 'clean' debt measure suspends the Obama administration’s borrowing limit, allowing the US Treasury to pay the government’s bills for another 13 months. The move is expected to diffuse the possibility of a debt crisis, well past the November mid-term elections.
221 congressmen (193 Democrats and 28 Republicans) voted in favor of the bill while 201 voted against, narrowly passing the bill to waive the US$17.2 trillion debt limit for just over a year.
Gene Sperling, Director of the White House’s National Economic Council, said the debt limit increase would be a ‘boost for confidence and investment in the U.S’.
The Obama administration has been calling on the government to approve the bill, without extra conditions, by the end of February.
englishnews@aa.com.tr
