begin partial quote from:
House to vote on short-term debt ceiling extension
By Veronica Rocha, Melissa Macaya, Meg Wagner, Melissa Mahtani and Mike Hayes, CNN
SOON: House will vote to extend debt ceiling through early December
From CNN's Clare Foran
The House will vote soon to extend the nation's debt limit through early December after the Senate approved a stopgap measure last week in a bid to avert a catastrophic default and economic disaster.
The House will not take a stand-alone vote to approve the debt ceiling extension. Instead, the extension will be passed when the House votes to approve a rule governing floor debate on three separate measures. The complex procedural maneuver means that lawmakers uncomfortable about taking a tough vote to increase the debt limit won't have to vote directly for it.
Once the Democratic-controlled House passes the short-term extension, it will be cleared for President Biden's signature.
But the temporary debt limit extension is only a short-term fix and sets up another looming potential fiscal crisis later this year when it runs out.
How we got to today's vote: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had warned lawmakers that the federal government would likely run out of cash by Oct. 18 unless Congress raised the debt ceiling, setting up a ticking clock and high stakes.
After weeks of partisan deadlock over the issue, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced last week that a debt limit deal had been reached, paving the way for the Senate to vote to pass the agreement.
An aide familiar with negotiations told CNN that the agreement increases the ceiling by $480 billion, which is how much the Treasury Department told Congress it would need to get to Dec. 3.
The announcement of the deal came a day after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell publicly floated a debt ceiling proposal as an offer to Democrats, a move that sparked negotiations between the two parties to reach an agreement.
Proxy voting hits new high for debt ceiling vote
From CNN's Kristin Wilson and Annie Grayer
Nearly half of House lawmakers have submitted paperwork to not vote in person today, as the House was called back into session to take some last minute votes including one to address the debt ceiling.
As the House approached the scheduled vote series, 197 members of the House of Representatives had sent a letter designating another member to vote on their behalf, using a system called proxy voting. The number of members who filed letters to use this practice climbed dramatically throughout the day in the lead up to the House officially returning into session.
“Each member has to speak for themselves, but we put this procedure and process in place to accommodate people during this health crisis,” House Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern said. “I can tell you I’ve never used proxy voting because I’ve never fallen into the criteria that we set when we put these rules together.”
Each member who signs a letter that’s filed with the Clerk of the House affirms that they are "unable to physically attend proceedings in the House Chamber due to the ongoing public health emergency." The policy was first put into effect May 2020 in response to the health risks associated with people gathering in person and traveling from their home states to Capitol Hill, but has since become widely abused by members on both sides of the aisle to be able to cast votes while attending political events, travel, or — as with the votes today – to not interfere with a week at home.
“This was put in place out of necessity and not out of convenience,” McGovern said. “I remind people every chance I get that the criteria is the criteria, and that you need to know you may be asked why you’re not here and you better make sure you’re following the rules.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has continued to extend the use of proxy voting since it was first implemented. The current covered period is not set to expire until Nov. 15.
CNN did an in depth report in July detailing how this system has been misused on both sides of the aisle.
No comments:
Post a Comment