Congressional Democratic leaders on Sunday have vowed to deal with the nation’s debt ceiling within the next few weeks. They have also argued that their recent victories have given them leverage, despite Republicans continuously saying that they would fight against this move.
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have said that they would try to act fast while the Democrats have control of both chambers. Pelosi said during ABC News’ “This Week” that this would be the best opportunity to do it. She also added that winning the Senate provided them with “leverage” going forward.
Schumer has said that Senate Democratic leaders would be meeting to talk about the legislative path going forward. He has so far not provided any specifics regarding this. He added that the debt ceiling would also be something important that they would need to handle within the next coming weeks.
The Democrats have managed to retain control of the Senate, while many midterm elections for the House have not yet been called for. Which party will win the House majority is still unclear.
Biden’s Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen has also urged lawmakers to move before the new Congress takes their place. The nation’s $31.4 trillion line of credit is expected to be exhausted within the first quarter of 2023.
Currently, every raise in the debt ceiling needs to be approved separately, this ensures that the United States does not default on its debts. However, this mechanism has been proven to be ineffective in recent years.
