The U.S. House of Representatives today passed the bill of extension of the U.S. debt ceiling to May, to avoid a potential default crisis also buy time for budget negotiations.
The Republican Party, with 285 votes in favor, 144 votes against to pass the bill. When the democratic and Republican lawmakers are struggling to reach a broader agreement to control the deficit and the federal budget, the bill temporarily defuse tensions between the two parties. The bill must be the Senate's consent, then only will submit and signed by President Barack Obama.
The vote in the Republican-controlled House was 285-144, with no votes coming from 33 Republicans and 111 Democrats.
The measure avoids for the time being a repeat of the 2011 debt ceiling standoff that rattled markets and resulted in a downgrade of the government's triple-A credit rating. The Treasury is expected to exhaust remaining capacity under the $16.4 trillion debt limit between mid-February and early March.
The House vote marked a sharp departure from Republican vows to use the debt ceiling issue as a way to extract spending cuts from President Barack Obama.
But House Speaker John Boehner warned immediately after Wednesday's vote that Republicans would take the next opportunity - automatic budget cuts set for March - to demand "reforms" from Obama.
The automatic cuts, which were temporarily set aside earlier this month in a fiscal deal between the White House and Congress, are "going to go into effect" unless Obama makes concessions, Boehner said.
The bill aims to draw Senate Democrats into the debate by requiring both chambers to pass a formal budget resolution by April 15. If either the House or Senate fails to meet this deadline, lawmakers' pay is suspended until they pass a budget.
Republicans have named the bill the "No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013."
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the Democratic-controlled Senate would take up the bill and pass it without changes. He and other top Senate Democrats praised the Republican plan for not requiring spending cuts to match the increase in borrowing authority.
