Senate GOP agrees to short-term debt-ceiling vote before recess

Senate Republicans will allow a Christmas Eve vote to temporarily raise the debt limit, with a promise to revisit the debate after President Barack Obama’s first State of the Union address.

The debt ceiling vote, expected to be the last before the holiday recess, will come immediately after a Thursday 8 a.m. vote to pass the Senate healthcare bill, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced Tuesday.

The proposed $290 billion increase would extend the government's ability to borrow for approximately two months. The increase is necessary with the federal debt approaching its current $12.1 trillion ceiling. The House passed the $290 billion short-term increase last week.

The agreement for a pre-recess debt vote struck between Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) also calls for a longer-term debt ceiling raise to hit the Senate floor Jan. 20.

That's one day after the Senate is scheduled to reconvene and one day after the State of the Union is likely to take place. White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said last month that Obama will use the speech to call for deficit reduction, which fiscal conservatives have pushed for as the deficit reached a record $1.4 trillion in 2009.

The Jan. 20 date for a debt debate was something McConnell wanted, according to a Republican aide. The debate will highlight the record levels of red ink when "Obama tries to reinvent himself [into] something he's clearly not," the aide said.

The timing for votes to pass the healthcare bill and a short-term debt limit increase had been up in the air until Tuesday. Senate Republicans said earlier this week they would use all available time for the healthcare debate and force Democrats to pass the bill after 7 p.m. on Christmas Eve. GOP members also said they would draw out debate on raising the debt ceiling.

Reid and Democrats, who have the votes necessary to pass the health bill, had called on Republicans to allow earlier votes to spare lawmakers from rushing home late on Christmas Eve and then returning to Washington as soon as next week for a debt vote.

The long-term debt limit increase may be designed to allow lawmakers to avoid another debt vote before the 2010 mid-term elections. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said earlier this month that congressional leaders were considering raising the ceiling by as much $1.9 trillion. But centrist Democrats balked at allowing more borrowing authority without a plan to eventually deal with red ink. More than a dozen Senate Democrats, led by Budget Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), said that their debt ceiling votes were contingent on congressional leaders allowing a vote on a special commission that would come up with a debt reduction plan.

An amendment creating the commission, pushed by Conrad along with Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), will come up during the January debt limit debate, Reid said. Republican amendments that will be considered seek to institute spending caps, restrict the use of remaining bank bailout money, rescind spending and block the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gas emissions, Reid said.

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