Here's what's in the debt ceiling package | CNN Politics (2023)

FAQs

Did Congress vote to raise the debt ceiling? ›

The House on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed legislation negotiated by President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy to suspend the debt ceiling and set federal spending limits, as a broad bipartisan coalition lined up to cast a critical vote to pull the nation back from the brink of economic catastrophe.

The House passed a bill to suspend the debt ceiling on Wednesday, clearing a major legislative hurdle with just days left before the US is expected to default. The final House vote was 314 to 117, with 149 Republicans and 165 Democrats supporting the measure.

The U.S. Senate passed a debt ceiling bill, addressing the issue just before the country would have defaulted on its debts. Senators voted 63-36 to pass the bill. Both senators Joe Manchin, a Democrat, and Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican, voted yes. The bill now goes to President Biden, who has said he will sign it.

The legislation will increase the upper limit of the mandate to age 55 in phases, according to the bill text. However, the package will also expand exemptions for veterans, people who are homeless and former foster youth in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, as food stamps are formally known.

Total national debt

First, the debt held by the public stands at more than $24.64 trillion. This represents debt securities, like Treasury bonds and notes, bought by banks, insurance companies, state and local governments, foreign governments and private investors.

The $32 trillion gross federal debt includes debt held by the public as well as debt held by federal trust funds and other government accounts. In very basic terms, this can be thought of as debt that the government owes to others plus debt that it owes to itself.

White House aides privately estimate they may need to deliver as many as 100 Democratic votes to ensure an eventual debt limit deal can pass the narrowly divided House, two people familiar with the matter told POLITICO.

The one-time student loan forgiveness program promises up to $20,000 of debt relief for low- and middle-income borrowers if the Supreme Court allows it to move forward. While House Republicans have previously voted to block the program – a bill Biden has pledged to veto – the debt ceiling deal leaves it alone.

The debt-limit agreement imposes an automatic 1 percent cut on all spending — including on military and veterans programs, which were exempted from the caps in the compromise bill — unless all dozen bills are passed and signed into law by the end of the calendar year.

Who qualifies for student loan forgiveness? To be eligible for forgiveness, you must have federal student loans and earn less than $125,000 annually (or $250,000 per household). Borrowers who meet that criteria can get up to $10,000 in debt cancellation.

What is the meaning of debt ceiling? ›

The debt ceiling is the maximum amount of money that the United States can borrow cumulatively by issuing bonds. The debt ceiling was created under the Second Liberty Bond Act of 1917 and is also known as the debt limit or statutory debt limit.

The Senate votes on bills, resolutions, motions, amendments, nominations, and treaties in a variety of ways.

At the end of FY 2022 the federal debt was $30.84 trillion. At the end of FY 2023 federal debt is “guesstimated” to amount to $32.69 trillion. Thus far, on 2023-06-15, the federal debt is $32.04 trillion. See Coronavirus Update page.

The deal struck by President Biden and House GOP negotiators over the weekend would raise the age to 54, up from 49, for able-bodied, low-income adults without dependents who would be required to work at least 80 hours a month to receive food aid.

Eliminating the U.S. government's debt is a Herculean task that could take decades. In addition to obvious steps, such as hiking taxes and slashing spending, the government could take a number of other approaches, some of them unorthodox and even controversial. Below are some of these options.

Therefore, China's national debt has surged almost three times that of the United States in the past 12 months. In the third spot, Japan has a national debt of $13.36 trillion, indicating a drop of $1.49 trillion YoY.

Flashpoints that greatly contributed to the debt over the past 50 years include the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the 2008 financial crisis and the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic -- the latter two prompting sweeping stimulus measures from Congress that cost trillions of dollars.

Why does the US owe so much money? ›

Since the government almost always spends more than it takes in via taxes and other revenue, the national debt continues to rise. To finance federal budget deficits, the U.S. government issues government bonds, known as Treasuries.

There are currently 435 voting representatives. Five delegates and one resident commissioner serve as non-voting members of the House, although they can vote in committee.

Student Loan Debt by Household Income

Households with income in the 90^th percentile held 11% of all student loan debt prior to 2020. Households in the highest income quartile (76^th percentile and higher) owe 34% of student loan debt. Households with income in the 51^st to 75^th percentile hold 29% of student loan debt.

Scholarships, grants, and work study are the three main financial aid types that don't need to be paid back.

Lifting the debt ceiling.

The deal reached by President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy will suspend the nation's debt limit until January 2025. This will allow the government to keep borrowing money so it can pay its bills on time.

To provide more flexibility to finance the United States' involvement in World War I, Congress modified the method by which it authorized debt in the Second Liberty Bond Act of 1917. Under this Act, Congress established an aggregate limit, or "ceiling," on the total amount of new bonds that could be issued.

The debt is the total amount of money the U.S. government owes. It represents the accumulation of past deficits, minus surpluses. Debt is like the balance on your credit card statement, which shows the total amount you have accrued over time.

What student loans are not eligible for forgiveness? Private student loans, by definition, are private and are not eligible to be forgiven. These are loans the borrower owes to student loan providers and not the federal government. Mr.

Are student loans automatically forgiven after 25 years? ›

Any outstanding balance on your loan will be forgiven if you haven't repaid your loan in full after 20 years (if all loans were taken out for undergraduate study) or 25 years (if any loans were taken out for graduate or professional study).

The PSLF Program forgives the remaining balance on your Direct Loans after you have made 120 qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan while working full-time for a qualifying employer.

According to usafacts.org, as of January 2023, Japan owned $1.1 trillion in US Treasuries, making it the largest foreign holder of the national debt. The second-largest holder is China, which owned $859 billion of US debt.

Potential repercussions of reaching the ceiling include a downgrade by credit rating agencies, increased borrowing costs for businesses and homeowners alike, and a dropoff in consumer confidence that could shock the United States' financial market and tip its economy—and the world's—into immediate recession.

So if the U.S. cannot pay its creditors, interest rates on U.S. debt would go up, creating a cascade of higher interest rates. So mortgage rates, credit card rates, car loan rates. All would become more expensive. Finally, there is a real concern about the economy — that a default could spark a recession.

The Senate tradition of unlimited debate has allowed for the use of the filibuster, a loosely defined term for action designed to prolong debate and delay or prevent a vote on a bill, resolution, amendment, or other debatable question.

May 11, 2023. WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) today introduced the Stopping Home Office Work's Unproductive Problems (SHOW UP) Act, which would require all executive agencies to return to remote work policies practiced prior to the COVID-19 public health emergency.

A referendum usually offers the electorate a straight choice between accepting or rejecting a proposal. However some referendums give voters multiple choices, and some use transferable voting.

According to data published by London-based investment fintech Invezz, Japan, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and the US are the top five nations with the highest level of government debt.

The United States has the world's highest national debt with $30.1 trillion owed to creditors as of the first quarter of 2023.

How high can the US debt go? ›

The debt limit caps the total amount of allowable outstanding U.S. federal debt. The U.S. hit that limit—$31.4 trillion—on January 19, 2023, but the Department of the Treasury has been undertaking a set of “extraordinary measures” so that the debt limit does not yet bind.

The monthly debt payments included in your back-end DTI calculation typically include your proposed monthly mortgage payment, credit card debt, student loans, car loans, and alimony or child support. Don't include non-debt expenses like utilities, insurance or food.

Is a mortgage considered debt? A mortgage is a type of secured debt because the real estate you're financing is used as collateral against the loan. Non-mortgage debt is any other type of debt that's not secured by real estate, such as personal loans, student loans, auto loans and credit cards.

What is not included in my debt-to-income ratio? Your debt-to-income ratio does not factor in your monthly rent payments, any medical debt that you might owe, your cable bill, your cell phone bill, utilities, car insurance or health insurance.

Alexander Hamilton rallied for the government to assume some debt and help meet its expenses. He pushed the framers of the new Constitution to establish measures to provide the assurance that the debt would be paid, and thus increase confidence in the growing government.

The debt ceiling agreement would put almost 750,000 older adults aged 50-54 at risk of losing food assistance through an expansion of the existing, failed SNAP work-reporting requirement.

The U.S. Senate passed a debt ceiling bill, addressing the issue just before the country would have defaulted on its debts. Senators voted 63-36 to pass the bill. Both senators Joe Manchin, a Democrat, and Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican, voted yes. The bill now goes to President Biden, who has said he will sign it.

The debt ceiling was raised 74 times from March 1962 to May 2011, including 18 times under Ronald Reagan, eight times under Bill Clinton, and seven times under George W. Bush. Congress has raised the debt ceiling 14 times from 2001 to 2016.

To access votes using Congress.gov search for a bill and click on the "Actions" tab. All House and Senate roll call votes will be listed with links to the House and Senate's web pages. The Congressional Record is the official source of information on recorded floor votes.

How many senators are there? ›

The Constitution prescribes that the Senate be composed of two senators from each State (therefore, the Senate currently has 100 Members) and that a senator must be at least thirty years of age, have been a citizen of the United States for nine years, and, when elected, be a resident of the State from which he or she ...

1837: Andrew Jackson

(In 1835, the $17.9 million budget surplus was greater than the total government expenses for that year.) By January of 1835, for the first and only time, all of the government's interest-bearing debt was paid off.

Your voter registration and some other voting documents, like a mail ballot application, are public records. No one however, not even elections officials, can find out who you voted for once your ballot is accepted. No one should be turned away at the polls.

Between 1789 and 2020, 152 have served in the House of Representatives, 9 have served in the Senate, and 1 has served in both chambers. Voting members have totaled 156, with 6 serving as delegates. Party membership has been, 131 Democrats, and 31 Republicans.

She also chaired the International Narcotics Control Caucus from 2009 to 2015 and was the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee from 2017 to 2021, during the Trump administration. At 89, Feinstein is the oldest sitting U.S. senator and member of Congress.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-CA, is the speaker of the House. He is the 55th person to serve as speaker of the House. It took 15 rounds of voting to elect McCarthy into the position, the first time in more than a century that the process of electing a speaker took more than one ballot.

The Senate has a membership of 40 Senators elected for 4-year terms, 20 to begin every 2 years. During his or her lifetime a person may serve no more than 12 years in the Senate, Assembly, or both, in any combination of terms.

The presiding officer of the chamber is the Speaker of the House, elected by the Representatives. He or she is third in the line of succession to the Presidency.

Representatives must be 25 years old and must have been U.S. citizens for at least 7 years.