The Senate passed the measure 64-34 on Thursday. Senate passes debt ceiling bill

With little fanfare Thursday, the Senate agreed to suspend the nation’s $16.4 trillion debt ceiling until May 19, postponing the specter of default that threatened the nation as early as February.

The vote was 64-34. It now heads to the White House for President Barack Obama’s expected signature.


( Also on POLITICO: Debt ceiling fix could last until August)

It would also tie lawmakers’ salaries to whether their respective chambers pass a budget. If the House or the Senate do not pass a budget by April 15, the pay for members in that chamber will be held in an escrow account until they pass a budget or until the last day of the 113th Congress.

Senate Democratic leaders have said they will pass a budget this year – the first time since 2009.

Twelve Republicans voted for the bill; only one Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, opposed it.

( Also on POLITICO: Fiscal fights ding economy)

First pitched by House Republicans at their annual conference retreat, the debt ceiling bill is meant to reconfigure the order of major fiscal showdowns that had been facing Congress. By delaying a debt ceiling fight until May, lawmakers will next be confronted by automatic spending cuts to defense and non-defense programs in March, as well as funding for the federal government that is set to expire March 27.

Several conservative House Republicans rejected their leadership’s proposal, citing concerns about allowing the government to borrow more money in an era of rising debt. The legislation contained no spending cuts — a demand of congressional Republicans in the last debt-ceiling standoff in summer 2011.

The lack of budget cuts prompted a majority of the Senate Republican conference to reject the legislation.

“Leader McConnell and other Senate Republicans had several amendments aimed at forcing Washington to cut government spending, but all were defeated by Democrats,” said a spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. “As a result, the leader simply couldn’t support the bill.”

And a majority of House Democrats opposed the bill; Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) dismissed it as a “gimmick” and criticized the bill for delaying a debt ceiling fight by just a few months.

Still, Democrats in the Senate have portrayed the Republican proposal as a concession, since it backs off their call for a dollar-for-dollar match in spending cuts to the increase in the debt limit.

Earlier Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) predicted that the legislation would pass on a “strong, bipartisan” vote.

“I was reassured by House Republicans’ decision last week to back off their reckless threat to hold the debt ceiling hostage,” Reid said. “Suspending the debt limit will ensure we pay the bills we’ve already incurred.”

Earlier Thursday, Republicans were allowed a handful of amendments to the bill – all of which failed.

The country technically hit its debt ceiling on Dec. 31, but the Treasury Department has been taking a series of so-called extraordinary measures to buy time before the nation faced defaulting on its obligations.