Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Speaker of the House, holds a news conference at the Capitol Visitor Center, with House Democrats, about achievements, including the For The People Act, and the agenda for 2020. It took place on Friday, July 30, 2021.
Both issues will be addressed by legislation the House is expected to vote on this week. In a joint statement, Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), said that the bill would finance the government until December and suspend the debt limit through 2022.
Congress has a September 30 deadline to fund federal government. Separately, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told lawmakers that the U.S. won't be able pay its bills in October if Congress doesn't suspend or raise debt ceiling.
Democratic congressional leaders said Monday that they would try to pass a bill to prevent a shutdown of the government and to suspend the U.S. Debt Limit as they attempt to avoid two possible crises at once.
It is not clear what the fate of this bill will be. Republicans say they won't vote with Democrats to suspend the debt limit, raising the possibility of a default that could cause havoc in the global economy.
Schumer and Pelosi said Monday that the GOP must address the debt limit, citing the fact that the GOP helped to pass sprawling coronavirus assistance plans last year.
They stated that "Addressing our debt limit is about meeting obligations we have already made, such as the bipartisan emergency COVID relief bill from December, as well as vital payments for Social Security recipients and veterans." And they warned that a default could "plug the country into recession."
Democrats also pointed out that the funding bill would include relief money for a recent series of natural disasters, which could make it more attractive to GOP lawmakers representing states affected by storms. Senator John Kennedy, R.-La., said that he would support a funding bill with a debt ceiling suspension. This would allow for "critical" relief funding for the state of Louisiana, which was recently hit by Hurricane Ida.
Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) tried to get Democrats to suspend their debt ceiling as part a bill that would have cost them up to $3.5 trillion to invest in climate policy and the social safety net. On Monday, he did not change his position.
He said, "They have all the tools to address the debt limit themselves."
McConnell stated that his party would vote to fund short-term government without suspending the debt limit.
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