The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday night approved a measure allowing Congress to fast-track legislation that would raise the federal government’s debt limit and prevent a potential default.
The Senate is expected to vote on the bill, which prevents a strategy to stall the issue, on Thursday.
That would expedite Congress’ consideration of separate legislation that would effectively raise the current $28.9 trillion federal borrowing limit to a level yet to be determined.
Earlier, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi warned of serious consequences if Congress does not act quickly.
“We must address the debt ceiling to prevent an unnecessary and catastrophic loss of trillions of dollars to GDP, as well as a devastating downgrade of our credit rating,” Pelosi said.