US Congress sends Obama bill to hike debt limit
(AFP) – 19 hours ago

WASHINGTON — The US Congress on Thursday sent President Barack Obama legislation allowing the United States to borrow another 1.9 trillion dollars, hiking the national debt ceiling to a historic 14.3 trillion.

An angry election-year debate over soaring government deficits was on full display as the US House of Representatives signed off on the increase in a 217-212 procedural vote before a final ballot on the underlying bill.

All of President Barack Obama's Republican critics and 37 of his Democratic allies opposed the move, which came one week after the similarly divided US Senate approved the increase.

Both chambers attached a provision that calls for offsetting the cost of new programs with spending cuts or tax increases, although critics noted that budget "emergencies" like the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are exempt.

Obama, who inherited a US economy on the brink of collapse, has presided over a first year in office that saw the budget deficit rise to 1.4 trillion dollars — a sum worth more than India's gross domestic product.

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as a massive injection of cash to keep the wheels of the US economy rolling, have exploded government's spending while revenues have shrunk with the economy.

Recent public opinion polls have found that the US public is angry at what it views as overspending by Washington at a time when many American families have been forced to tighten their belts.

Democrats and many economists however say government spending is never more needed than during a recession to prime the economic pump.

In December, both houses agreed to boost the debt limit by an interim amount of 290 billion dollars to ensure the US government would continue to function.

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