House Passes Debt Ceiling Extension

The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a three-month extension to the debt ceiling, hours after Senate Democrats announced that they will accept the House GOP’s plan to raise the debt ceiling. House Speaker John Boehner and his team have managed to get members to support a plan that would lift the debt ceiling until May 19 in exchange for demands that the Senate and House regularly approve the budget. The new plan drops the previous demand that every dollar in increased borrowing authority be met with a corresponding spending cut. Over in the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid promised “regular order” to bring a budget to the Senate floor—for first time since 2009.