FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – The debt ceiling is headed to the full House of Representatives after passing through the House Rules Committee, and one Congressman from Fresno is voting yes for the Bill, according to officials.
Some Republican and Democrat Congressmen are going to vote yes for the Bill that would raise the debt limit until 2025.
“These are important issues and it really points out that our budget process is broken, and it has been for a long time,” said Jim Costa, Fresno Democrat and Congressman who is also voting yes for the Bill.
According to Costa, it would be irresponsible to not vote yes for the Bill and it would also raise the debt ceiling, putting the progress that Congress and the Democratic party have made at risk. He says a default would also be treacherous for the economy.
Costa also stated that the votes are there to pass this tonight, which would send the Bill off to the Senate ahead of the June 5 default deadline.
“I think it’s going to require the Speaker to be able to maintain a strong majority of his conference and I think it’s going to require leader Jeffries to maintain a strong majority among Democrats,” Costa said.
“To vote against this is a mistake,” said Hanford Republican Congressman David Valadao, who is voting yes for the Bill. “Is it everything we want? No, no bill ever is. But moving the ball forward and not facing a situation where we could potentially default and put our financial markets across the country into chaos, I think it’s a thing we need to focus on.”
Speaker and California Central Valley representative Kevin McCarthy has negotiated with President Joe Biden, officials say.
Valadao said many Republicans are now on board with the deal they worked on, but the rules package only passed with 241 “yes” votes and saw 187 “no” votes, forcing many Democrats to back the package in order to see it get passed.
“The fact that we’re able to negotiate and get some things that are positive for us is something that should be celebrated and move on to the next fight,” Valadao said.
During the rules vote, many Republicans did not vote for the package despite being in the majority party. The Senate has a Democratic majority and once the Bill does get to the Senate, it will need a super-majority of 60 votes to pass.