The US Senate passed the debt ceiling legislation by a vote of 63-36 on Thursday night, just days before the default deadline on Monday. The bill will now go to US President Joe Biden to pass into law. The bill will suspend the country’s debt ceiling until after Biden’s term ends, saving the nation from the first default. 

Biden will now sign the bill into law as soon as possible and will address the nation’s citizens at 7 pm ET Friday. Several political leaders have appreciated the bill and believe it to be a big win for the country.

A total of 11 amendments were demanded by various senators instead of agreeing to vote in favour of the bill quickly. All of these amendments were denied in the voting session. The House passed the bill earlier on Wednesday with a 314-117 majority vote. 

The bill, titled The Fiscal Responsibility Act 2023, is an output of weeks of negotiations between the two houses– Republicans and Democrats. It implements caps and cuts on government spending and suggests a few policy changes. 

The bill will implement a modest cut to nonmilitary spending and a modest expansion in defence spending. It includes conservative measures to claw back about $28 billion in unspent Covid relief funds, eliminate $1.4 billion in IRS funding and overhaul the permitting process for energy projects. 

The bill will restart federal student loan payments after a lengthy “pause” that began early in the pandemic. The legislation also paves the way for a natural gas pipeline from West Virginia to Virginia.

Republicans are touting its spending cuts while the White House argues it was able to protect major Democratic priorities like Medicare and Social Security, among other Biden-backed initiatives.