House Passes "Clean" Debt Limit Bill, Ready to Head Home Ahead of Snowstorm
221-201
The House has just voted in favor of "suspending" the debt ceiling through March 2015 by a vote of 221-201, with 28 Republicans voting for it and just 2 Democrats voting against. The measure now goes to the Senate.
Republican leadership, looking to get something out of the vote or just to entice more Republicans to support it, briefly considered tying it to a restoration of military benefits before agreeing on a "clean" vote, something Speaker John Boehner, the top House Republican, called a "disappointing moment."
The U.S. debt is at $17.3 trillion and rising. Multiple Democrats, including House Majority Whip Steny Hoyer, suggested that raising the debt ceiling shouldn't even be a matter for debate, because America is awesome. Hoyer also lauded Bill Clinton and House Republicans in the 90s for delivering several budget surpluses, calling it something of a "team effort," but didn't seem to draw any relevant conclusions for the present day.
Check out Remy's Reason TV offering on the debt ceiling, when the US debt was $14 trillion and rising, below:
