Both chambers of Congress this week passed a bill to raise the U.S. debt limit until 2025, a major step toward averting a default on the U.S. debt and sending the legislation to President Biden for his signature.
The bill, negotiated by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and President Joe Biden, passed by a 314-107 margin. On the final vote, 149 Republicans and 165 Democrats voted yes, while 71 Republicans and 46 Democrats voted no.
The Senate then passed the bill late Thursday by a 63-36 vote. 44 Democrats, 17 Republicans, and two Independents voted yes, while four Democrats, 31 Republicans, and one Independent voted no.
The deal includes many components beyond simply raising the debt limit, including limits on future federal spending, rules for the appropriations process, limits on regulations, changes to work requirements for food assistance programs, energy project permitting reform, clawbacks of COVID-19 and IRS-related funding from pandemic-era legislation, amongst many other things.
On spending levels, the bill caps FY2024 nondefense discretionary spending roughly flat with a one percent increase in FY2025, which is projected to be slower than the rate of inflation. These are binding caps. It sets spending targets (not bound by law) to one percent growth for years FY2026-FY2029. Defense spending for FY2024 is set at $886 billion, a three percent increase, and $895 billion for FY2025.
The bill also compels Congress to pass all 12 appropriations bills by December 31 or else a one percent cut on total discretionary spending is imposed until all 12 bills are passed and become law.
It institutes the “PAYGO” rule for regulations, meaning whenever a discretionary regulation increases direct government spending by $1 billion over 10 years or $100 million in a single year, regulators are required to find offsetting cuts. This rule, which sunsets at the end of 2024, includes waiver authority that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) director can utilize in cases where it is “necessary for delivery of essential services” or “necessary for effective program delivery.”
The bill raises the work requirement age threshold for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) from 49 to 54 for able-bodied adults without dependents, exempting veterans, homeless, and those in foster care. It lowers the amount of overall exemptions states can use to drop these requirements and USDA, which administers the program, is required to publish states’ applications for waivers.
Finally, the bill includes provisions to streamline infrastructure and energy project permitting, tens of billions of dollars in rescissions to the $80 billion recently allocated to IRS expansion, end the freeze on student loan repayments and restrict President Biden’s ability to reinstate a moratorium, and block President Biden’s proposed tax increases.
Text of the bill can be found here.
