WASHINGTON: The US House of Representatives passed a bill to suspend the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling on Wednesday, with majority support from both Democrats and Republicans to overcome opposition led by hard-line conservatives and avoid a catastrophic default.
The Republican-controlled House voted 314-117 to send the legislation to the Senate, which must enact the measure and get it to President Joe Biden’s desk before a Monday deadline, when the federal government is expected to run out of money to pay its bills.
“This agreement is good news for the American people and the American economy,” Biden said after the vote. “I urge the Senate to pass it as quickly as possible so that I can sign it into law.”
The measure, a compromise between Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, drew opposition from 71 hard-line Republicans. That would normally be enough to block partisan legislation, but 165 Democrats — more than the 149 Republicans who voted for it — backed the measure and pushed it through.
Republicans control the House by a narrow 222-213 majority.
The legislation suspends — in essence, temporarily removes — the federal government’s borrowing limit through Jan. 1, 2025. The timeline allows Biden and Congress to set aside the politically risky issue until after the November 2024 presidential election.
It would also cap some government spending over the next two years, speed up the permitting process for certain energy projects, claw back unused COVID-19 funds and expand work requirements for food aid programs to additional recipients.
Hard-line Republicans had wanted deeper spending cuts and more stringent reforms.
“At best, we have a two-year spending freeze that’s full of loopholes and gimmicks,” said Representative Chip Roy, a prominent member of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus.
Progressive Democrats — who along with Biden had resisted negotiating over the debt ceiling — oppose the bill for a few reasons, including new work requirements from some federal anti-poverty programs.
“Republicans are forcing us to decide which vulnerable Americans get to eat or they’ll throw us into default. It’s just plain wrong,” said Democratic Representative Jim McGovern on Wednesday.
Late on Tuesday, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said the legislation would result in $1.5 trillion in savings over a decade. That is below the $4.8 trillion in savings that Republicans aimed for in a bill they passed through the House in April, and also below the $3 trillion in deficit that Biden’s proposed budget would have reduced over that time through new taxes.
US debt ceiling bill passes House with broad bipartisan support
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US debt ceiling bill passes House with broad bipartisan support
Saudi Absher platform delivers over $5.3bn in annual economic impact
RIYADH: The Saudi government’s Absher digital services platform generates more than SR20 billion ($5.3 billion) in annual economic impact, highlighting the scale of savings created by the Kingdom’s transition from paper-based government procedures to digital services, according to the Ministry of Interior.
Speaking to Al-Eqtisadiah, Bandar bin Mashari, assistant minister of interior for technology affairs, said the savings reflect broader efficiency gains from digitization.
This comes as government services previously delivered through manual, paper-driven processes have moved onto a unified digital platform used by millions of citizens and residents.
“Absher is one of the oldest platforms that has had a direct impact on strengthening the efficiency of spending and in opening new avenues for providing added value services,” said Mashari.
He said the platform’s economic impact is closely linked to the government’s digital transformation agenda, which aims to reduce operational costs while improving service delivery across public agencies.
The assistant minister further stated that the economic impact was at SR17 billion and grew to SR20 billion according to the ministry’s latest data.
He added that Absher has completed a shift in its financial structure, transitioning from direct state capital funding to a sustainable financing model based on self-generated income.
Mashari also said the Ministry of Interior is moving to expand its digital capabilities beyond service delivery, with a focus on security and financial protection.
Authorities are working toward building a secure digital ecosystem designed to combat financial fraud and crime, he said, as digital transactions and online government services continue to expand.
Absher is the flagship digital services platform of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Interior and one of the Kingdom’s earliest large-scale e-government initiatives.
Launched in 2010, the platform provides citizens, residents, visitors, and businesses with access to hundreds of government services through a unified digital portal and mobile application.
Its services span civil affairs, passports, residency and visa services, as well as traffic and vehicle transactions, and business administration, significantly reducing the need for in-person government visits.
Absher is widely used across the Kingdom, handling millions of electronic transactions each month and serving as a core pillar of Saudi Arabia’s broader digital transformation and Vision 2030 agenda.
