WASHINGTON — Top Senate Democrats and Republicans said on Thursday that they had struck a deal to allow the debt ceiling to be raised through early December, temporarily staving off the threat of a first-ever default on the national debt after the G.O.P. agreed to temporarily drop its blockade of an increase.
Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, announced Thursday morning that he had reached an agreement with Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader, to clear the way for a vote on a short-term extension, with 11 days left before a possible default.
The movement came the day after Mr. McConnell backed down partially from his refusal to allow any such increase to move forward, offering a temporary reprieve as political pressure mounted to avoid being blamed for a fiscal calamity.
“It’s our hope that we can get this done as soon as today,” Mr. Schumer said on the Senate floor.
The agreement would boost the legal debt cap by $480 billion, according to a Senate aide familiar with the details, which the Treasury Department estimates would be enough to allow the government to continue borrowing through Dec. 3. The current limit is $28.4 trillion, since Aug. 1.
Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/07/us/politics/debt-ceiling-senate.html
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