WASHINGTON -- The House has backed an $800 billion increase in the limit on federal debt, raising the allowable level of public borrowing to nearly $8.2 trillion.
The Thursday vote followed Wednesday's Senate acceptance of the move, clearing the way for President Bush's approval and meeting the end-of-week deadline set by the Treasury Department to avoid further shifting of funds to keep the government solvent and avoid a potential federal loan default.
The increase was necessitated by the massive federal deficit, which reached $413 billion in fiscal 2004, and was the third increase in the statutory limit on federal borrowing over the last three years for a total increase of more than $2 trillion.
A vote on the issue had been delayed by House and Senate Republicans to avoid highlighting the deficit issue before the election.
Democrat and Republican fiscal hawks on Capitol Hill have been critical of the increases, complaining that they are needed because of increases in government spending that accompanied the president's tax cuts.
