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US House Passes Bill to Raise Debt Ceiling

02 August 2011 07:35 (UTC +04:00)

The action now shifts to the Senate, Voice of America reported.

The spotlight was on the House of Representatives as the speaker, Republican John Boehner, read the vote tally on the final vote to raise the debt ceiling and avert default.

"’Ayes’ are 269, the ’nays’ are 161," said Boehner. "The bill is passed, and without objection a motion to reconsider is laid on the table."

House Democrats had a surprise to make the vote even more momentous, as House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi explained:

â€œTo witness the return of our colleague who is the personification of courage, of sincerity, of admiration throughout the country, Congresswoman Gabby Giffords," said Pelosi.

Representative Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was shot and critically wounded in January during an assassination attempt and has been recovering ever since. It was the first time in the House chamber since the shooting. Giffords waved and thanked her congressional colleagues, who gave her a standing ovation. In a statement, she said she wanted to return to Congress to vote for the debt ceiling legislation.

After weeks of negotiations between Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican congressional leaders to forge a deal to raise the nation’s borrowing limit, attention shifted Monday to House Democrats, who were unhappy with the agreement crafted late Sunday. A turning point might have come when House Minority Leader, Democrat Nancy Pelosi and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer came out in support of the bill on the House floor.