McConnell: Senate likely to vote Wednesday on House debt-limit extension

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said that the Senate will likely vote on the House’s three-month extension of the debt limit Wednesday. 

The No Budget, No Pay Act, H.R. 325, suspends the debt ceiling through May 18 and requires each chamber to pass a budget by April 15 or have its members face a pay suspension. The House passed the measure last week in a 285-144 vote.

“On Wednesday, we’ll take it up here in the Senate," McConnell said on the Senate floor Monday. "If the House bill passes here and is signed into law, the Finance Committee should immediately begin laying the foundations for a solution. Negotiations should begin, hearings should be scheduled, and legislation should be marked up.

“Three months is not very much time in Congress, so let’s use this additional time to work on a plan.”

Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash.) has said she would put forward a budget proposal in her committee and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has said he intends to bring it to the Senate floor for a vote.

Republicans want major spending reductions in exchange for extending the deadline for a longer period of time, but Democrats have said that there is room for more revenue increases through closing tax loopholes.

“Democrats need to put their preoccupation with taxes aside and focus on the root problem: spending,” McConnell said. “It’s time to make some tough decisions for a change.”

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