Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. (Flickr/Wallyg)

The Senate voted 64 to 34 to pass the bill which will allow the $16.4-trillion legal debt limit to be raised until May. One Democrat and a number of Republicans were opposed.

The passage of the legislation will allow the government to continue to borrow money to pay its bills and finance its obligations. It is expected that $490 billion will have been added to the nation’s debt by May 19, bringing the total up to $17 trillion.

The bill has been sent to the White House and awaits President Obama’s signature. NBC reported that while the president would have preferred a longer-term extension, he will not oppose Congress and will be quick to sign the legislation into law.

Now that an agreement has been reached on the issue of the debt ceiling, lawmakers’ attention will turn to the automatic spending cuts scheduled to come into effect in March. So far, Congress has been unable to find alternative deficit-reduction strategies in order to circumvent the $1.2 trillion in budget cuts. 

The House and the Senate have until mid-April to draft and pass budget resolutions.

Read the full story at NBC.
Reach Staff Reporter Natasha Pesaran here.