House of Representatives passes debt bill

Enough Democrats and Republicans reluctantly joined forces to see the proposed legislation through by 269 to 161

the Guardian, 2 July 2011

The weeks-long confrontation over the US debt has finally ended after the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly in favour of a deal to prevent the economic catastrophe of America defaulting for the first time in its history.

The vote came only hours before the Treasury deadline that potentially would have seen the US run out of cash and no longer able to pay its bills.

Enough Democrats and Republicans reluctantly joined forces to see the proposed legislation through, 269 votes to 161. But there were significant revolts by both Democrats and Republicans. If the House had failed to vote in favour, markets would likely have gone into freefall.

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