U.S. Senate passes debt ceiling bill, saving the country from default....U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown and J.D. Vance, both of Ohio, voted differently in terms of supporting or not supporting the legislation....Ohio Congresswoman Emilia Sykes comments....By Clevelandurbannews.com, Ohio's Black digital news leader

 

The United States Senate in Washington, D.C

By Kathy Wray Coleman, associate publisher, editor

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Under the leadership of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the Democratically-controlled U.S. Senate passed a debt ceiling bill Thursday night that averts what could have been a first-ever default had Congress not passed the measure by the June 5 deadline. All that is needed now is for President Joe Biden to sign the controversial measure into law, which he has promised to do.

If the June 5 deadline had not been met, the nation's bills would have gone unpaid, according to the treasury department, and the country would have ultimately fallen into default for the first time in American history.

Thursday's Senate vote on Capitol Hill was 63-36 with four Democrats, 31 Republicans and one Independent, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, voting no. Sen Sherrod Brown, a seasoned Democratic lawmaker who resides in Cleveland, voted yes and Ohio's other U.S. senator, J.D. Vance, a Republican neophyte elected to the Senate for the first time during the November midterm elections, voted against the bill. 

The congressional legislation at issue suspends the country's $31 trillion debt limit for two years until 2025 to avoid a government shutdown and to allow for the government to keep borrowing money so it can pay its bills on time. It passed the Republican-dominated House of Representatives on Wednesday, 314-117.

President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy pushed for a bipartisan compromise before the House passed the bill earlier in the week, though 71 House Republicans and 46 Democrats voted no.

"The bipartisan budget agreement is not perfect, but thanks to Democratic leadership through the negotiations process, we arrived at a bipartisan agreement that funds our government while protecting critical programs for working people and growing the economy for everyone," Rep. Emilia Sykes told Clevelandurbannews.com in a press release on Wednesday after the House passed the measure. 

Sykes is an Akron Democrat who voted for the bill and one of three Black members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio.

The other two Black federal lawmakers from Ohio, Rep Joyce Beatty of Columbus and Rep Shontel Brown, a Warrensville Hts Democrat, were also among the Congressional Democrats who voted yes.

The president was elated as to his win relative to the debt ceiling It is the first major political compromise reached by the House under the leadership of Speaker McCarthy since the Republicans wrestled the House away from Democrats via the November midterm elections. And it comes as the 2024 presidential election nears.

The liberal lawmakers who voted against the debt ceiling legislation, including Sen Bernie Sanders, a progressive, and Reps Alexandra Ocaseo-Cortez of New York and Cori Bush of Missouri, also progressives, say in large part that it is risky and will wreak havoc on the economy, and that marginalized groups remain subordinated.

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, the most read Black digital newspaper and blog in Ohio and in the Midwest Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview, CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.