Schumer warns October recess in jeopardy over debt limit fight
By Alexander Bolton - 10/05/21 03:40 PM EDT
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday signaled he may cancel the chamber's October recess to allow more time to resolve the stalemate over raising the nation’s borrowing authority.
“We’re going to stay here until we get this done,” Schumer declared at a press conference after meeting with his caucus.
The Senate is scheduled to be in recess the week of Oct. 11 in observance of Columbus Day, but there's a growing sense that lawmakers might not be able to go home for any extended period of time until November given the looming debt ceiling deadline. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said Congress will need to taken action by Oct. 18 to ensure the federal government does not default on its debt for first time in U.S. history.
Schumer on Tuesday reiterated the argument he’s made since last week that the debt limit can be dealt with swiftly if Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Republicans agree to allow it to be suspended by a simple majority vote.
He again warned that using budget reconciliation to bypass a Republican filibuster would be too time consuming. That process would require the Senate Budget Committee to mark up an amendment to the budget resolution, followed by a vote to discharge the resolution to the floor and then two vote-a-ramas to amend the budget and pass a subsequent reconciliation vehicle focused narrowly on the debt limit.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/575422-schumer-warns-october-recess-in-jeopardy-over-debt-limit-fight
