House Democrats Set Up Procedural Move to Force Debt Limit Vote

(Bloomberg) -- House Democrats worked to get around Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Republican leaders with a procedural move that could speed up a vote on a debt ceiling increase as US default looms as soon as June 1.

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Democrats will need some moderate House Republicans to cooperate for the gambit to succeed because the discharge petition would require 218 signatures — a majority of the House — to force action. McCarthy and his leadership team are certain to put maximum pressure on GOP members not to go along, but only five would have to defy the speaker to move the measure forward.

The complex plan has been in the works for months and would allow a vote on a debt ceiling increase by early June.

Democrats set up a multiweek process to force a floor vote on a placeholder bill authored by Representative Mark DeSaulnier of California that could then be amended to increase the debt limit. DeSaulnier quietly introduced his placeholder bill in January to allow it sit and “ripen” for Tuesday’s move. Rather than trying to discharge the bill itself, Democrats are using a workaround to discharge a debate rule, a much faster process.

“Congress must urgently pass legislation to raise the borrowing limit and avoid plunging our nation into a recession, driving up unemployment and crashing the stock market,” said Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries in a letter to his colleagues announcing the move. “House Democrats are working to make sure we have all options at our disposal to avoid a default.”

McCarthy will sit down with President Joe Biden and other congressional leaders on May 9 to discuss the debt ceiling. So far the prospects of a deal appear low because Biden continues to insist on a no-strings-attached debt increase and McCarthy is demanding enactment of the $4.8 trillion in budget cuts the House GOP passed last week.

Former House parliamentarian Thomas Wickham, now with the US Chamber of Commerce, said that the Democrats move would set up a debt ceiling vote on June 6 at the earliest, potentially after the default date. That date could move up if the House stays in session for more days this month to confront the debt ceiling, or if a determined group of 218 members forces more session days.

--With assistance from Emily Wilkins.

(Updates with former parliamentarian, in final paragraph. An earlier version corrected the timing of the placeholder bill, in fourth paragraph.)

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