AASHTO Journal, 25 January 2013
The House passed a bill Wednesday that would raise the debt ceiling for a few months while also stating members of Congress would not be paid if the Senate did not pass a budget for the fiscal year 2014.
The House of Representatives passed H.R. 325 by a vote of 285-144. The bill would raise the debt ceiling until May 18 and also require that the House and Senate pass a budget by April 15. If a budget is not agreed to by that point, the salaries of all congressional members will be held until a budget actually is adopted. The bill was introduced by Rep. David Camp (R-MI), chair of the House Ways and Means Committee.
“We’re committed to doing a budget on the House side—a budget that will balance over the next 10 years,” House Speaker John Boehner said in a statement after the vote. “It’s time for the Senate and the president to show the American people how they’re willing to balance the budget over the next 10 years.”
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he expected the Senate to take up the measure.
“This is a clean debt limit increase that will set the precedent for future debt ceiling extensions,” Reid said. “I want to give credit where credit is due, and thank Speaker Boehner for his leadership here in defusing another fight over the debt ceiling. The middle class has been telling us they do not want another crisis, and this bill gives them the security they deserve.”
Still looming is the act of sequestration, or automatic spending cuts across the board, which are set to go into effect in March.
A similar version of the House bill has been introduced in the Senate for debate. As of AASHTO Journal press time, no vote has been taken.