FILE - In this undated file photo, Josephine County Sheriff Gil Gilbertson stands in his office in Grants Pass, Ore. Gilbertson is one of a growing number of rural sheriffs and lawmakers vowing to ignore any new gun control legislation, or even make it a crime for federal officials to enforce federal gun policy. Gilbertson and others have written to Vice President Joe Biden, who headed a gun violence taskforce for the president, saying they will ignore any rule, regulation or executive order they find goes against the Constitution, and will not allow federal officers to enforce them, either. (AP Photo/Mail Tribune, Bob Pennell, File)
US Senate passes debt limit increase
Published: 10:57:37 AM, Thu 31 January 2013 UTC
The United States Senate has approved a deal that will allow the government to borrow money beyond its $US16.4 trillion limit.
The Democrat-led Senate voted 64-34 to approve the temporary debt limit reprieve.
The measure had already been passed 285-144 by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, and will now go to President Obama for signing into law.
The agreement is only temporary, and a new deal will have to be struck by May 19, although the US Treasury says extraordinary measures would be available on that date to delay breaching the debt ceiling for some extra time.
In the meantime, Congress must decide what to do over automatic spending cuts that kick in at the beginning of March and also consider a measure to continue funding the operations of the government by March 27.
Tags:
treasury, democratic party, united states senate, united states house of representatives, united states congress, united states, culture_politics, automatic spending cuts, president of the united states, agreement, washington, d.c., beginning, republican-controlled house, barack obama, president obama, congress, law, money, representatives, government, meantime, new deal, debt ceiling, extra time, debt limit, extraordinary measures, senate passes debt, debt limit reprieve, limit increase, democrat-led senate
