House defeats proposal to raise debt limit
Setting the stage for a long summer of heated negotiations, the House overwhelmingly rejected a proposal Tuesday that would increase the nation’s ability to borrow money without also making major cuts in federal spending.
The 317-to-98 vote was a bipartisan rejection of extending the nation’s current debt limit of $14.3 trillion unless major spending reductions accompany the legislation lifting the ceiling. Every Republican voted against the plan, joined by 81 Democrats.