Congress approves increase in U.S. debt ceiling

Obama calls the debt-ceiling legislation an “important first step” in ensuring the nation lives within its means.

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Aug. 2, 2011

President Obama signs the Budget Control Act of 2011 in the Oval Office. The Senate approved the bill shortly before the Obama signed it by a vote of 74 to 26. The House passed the same bill a day earlier by a vote of 269 to 161.

Pete Souza / The White House

Aug. 2, 2011

Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) speaks to reporters before the Senate passed a budget agreement to raise the debt ceiling and cut at least $2.1 trillion from projected borrowing over the next decade, after months of partisan battles on Capitol Hill. Obama signed the legislation into law hours before the debt limit deadline was set to expire.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

Aug. 2, 2011

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) speaks to the press following Tuesday's debt deal resolution.

Amanda Voisard / The Washington Post

Aug. 2, 2011

Senate Democratic Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) walks to the Senate floor just before the Senate passed an agreement to raise the debt ceiling. As the majority whip of the Senate, Durbin was partly responsible for the getting the votes needed to pass the bill that will raise the debt ceiling and reduce the deficit.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

Aug. 2, 2011

Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), right, whispers to Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) before heading to the Senate floor.

Amanda Voisard / The Washington Post

Aug. 2, 2011

With a statue of Thomas Jefferson to the left, Senate Democratic Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) speaks to a reporter just before the Senate passed a budget agreement to raise the debt ceiling.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

Aug. 2, 2011

President Obama comes out from the Oval Office to make a statement on the debt ceiling vote. The Senate has passed the debt-ceiling deal that Obama has struck with congressional leaders. The Senate voted 74-26 to approve the bill to raise the debt ceiling, allowing the U.S. to avoid default on its debts.

Alex Wong / Getty Images

Aug. 2, 2011

Obama makes a statement in the Rose Garden after the Senate’s vote. Obama called the legislation "an important first step" in ensuring the nation lives within its means.

Jewel Samad / AFP/Getty Images

Aug. 2, 2011

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is interviewed on Capitol Hill after the Senate voted to pass debt legislation.

Jacquelyn Martin / AP

Aug. 2, 2011

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), followed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), gives a thumbs up as he walks to vote on the debt limit bill.

Win McNamee / Getty Images

Aug. 1, 2011

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) arrives at the Capitol with her husband, Mark Kelly, and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) to vote on the debt-limit bill Monday in the House. Giffords has been recovering from a gunshot wound to the head sustained Jan. 8 in Tucson.

Tom Williams / Roll Call Photos

Aug. 1, 20112

Giffords, center, is welcomed by her colleagues on the floor of the House of Representatives.

/ AP

Aug. 1, 2011

Giffords leaves the House floor after voting in support of the deal to raise the nation's debt ceiling.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

Aug. 1, 2011

Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly, prepare to leave the Capitol after the vote.

Susan Walsh / AP

Aug. 1, 2011

After a meeting with members of the House Armed Services Committee concerning cuts to defense, Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) speaks to reporters concerning the debt-ceiling package.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

Aug. 1, 2011

Emerging from closed-door meetings concerning the debt-ceiling package, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) prepares to speak to reporters on Capitol Hill.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

Aug. 1, 2011

Vice President Biden answers questions for reporters after meeting with House Democrats about debt-relief legislation at the Capitol. Congressional leaders scrambled for enough support from skeptical lawmakers on Monday to push through an 11th-hour deal to raise the U.S. borrowing limit and avert a potentially devastating debt default.

Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

Aug. 1, 2011

Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) speaks to the media following a meeting with Vice President Biden at the Capitol. Congressional leaders, leaving no extra time before a default threatened for Aug. 2, raced to push through a compromise sealed with President Obama July 31 to raise the U.S. debt limit by at least $2.1 trillion and slash government spending by $2.4 trillion or more.

Andrew Harrer / Bloomberg News

July 31, 2011

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is all smiles as he walks to the Senate floor to announce that the White House and congressional leaders have reached a deal to raise the federal debt limit that includes sharp spending cuts but no new taxes, breaking a partisan impasse that has driven the nation to the brink of a government default.

Harry Hamburg / AP

July 31, 2011

President Obama arrives to make a statement on the debt agreement. Obama announced that he and top lawmakers had reached an eleventh-hour deal to avert a disastrous debt default that would have sown chaos in the world economy. "I want to announce that the leaders of both parties in both chambers have reached an agreement that will reduce the deficit and avoid default, a default that would have had a devastating effect on our economy," he said in hastily announced remarks at the White House.

Jewel Samad / AFP/Getty Images

July 31, 2011

President Obama speaks on the debt limit accord from the briefing room of the White House. Obama indicated that he and Republican members of Congress had reached a compromise to solve the crisis before the Aug. 2 deadline.

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

July 31, 2011

Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), right, talks to reporters after voting on Capitol Hill.

Astrid Riecken / Getty Images

July 31, 2011

The U.S. Capitol building is seen in Washington, DC. President Obama announced that congressional leaders had reached a tentative agreement to extend the federal debt limit while enacting spending cuts.

Mario Tama / Getty Images

July 31, 2011

Sen. Richard Durbin (D- Ill.) speaks to reporters after voting on the debt ceiling.

Astrid Riecken / Getty Images

July 31, 2011

President Obama walks past Vice President Biden, center, and White House communications director Daniel Pfeiffer after speaking on the debt limit impasse from the briefing room of the White House.

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

July 31, 2011

Sen. Richard M. Durbin (D-Ill.) talks with the media following the Senate vote on the bill of Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) With the default deadline just two days away, prospects for a debt-limit deal seemed to significantly brighten early Sunday after the White House entered intense negotiations with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Saturday in a last-ditch bid to forge a bipartisan agreement to raise the federal debt limit.

Jahi Chikwendiu / The Washington Post

July 30, 2011

House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) heads to the House chamber on a day of frenzied negotiations as rank-and-file lawmakers pleaded with their leaders to set politics aside and strike a bipartisan deal to raise the federal debt limit.

Alex Wong / Getty Images

July 30, 2011

Harry Reid, with Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), left, at his side, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill. The House rejected Reid's proposed debt-ceiling bill one day after the Senate rejected Boehner's plan.

Alex Wong / Getty Images

July 30, 2011

Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), right, talks with Sen. Bernard Sanders (I-Vt) as Congress tries to hammer out a solution to the debt-ceiling standoff.

Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

July 29, 2011

Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), left, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) arrive at a news conference to discuss the threat of a Republican filibuster of Reid's measure to raise the debt ceiling.

Yuri Gripas / Reuters

July 29, 2011

A video image shows the final House vote on the revamped debt-limit bill. The GOP-controlled House passed the bill to avert default, ignoring a presidential veto threat and Senate opposition.

/ House televised proceedings via AP

July 29, 2011

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) walks to a House GOP caucus meeting. He failed to bring debt-limit legislation to the floor of the House on Thursday night after he was unable to muster enough Republican votes.

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

July 29, 2011

Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) holds a news conference after a Senate Democratic caucus meeting.

Alex Wong / Getty Images

July 28, 2011

Rep. Tim Griffin (R-Ark.) heads to a news conference where he said he would support House Speaker John Boehner’s plan

Jim Lo Scalzo/European Pressphoto Agency

July 28, 2011

Reps. John Garamendi (D-Calif.), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.) and Donna Edwards (D-Md.) wait to speak as federal employees and progressive groups gather in front of the Capitol to urge lawmakers to come to a fair deal on the budget.

Bill O'Leary / The Washington Post

July 28, 2011

Van Jones, right, of the American Dream Movement, points skyward during a singalong as federal employees and progressive groups gather in front of the Capitol to urge lawmakers to come to a fair deal on the budget. At the microphone is Joel Silberman, also with the American Dream Movement.

Bill O'Leary / The Washington Post

July 28, 2011

Kristin Hedges directs people to a gathering in front of the Capitol to urge lawmakers to come to a fair deal on the budget.

Bill O'Leary / The Washington Post

July 28, 2011

Religious and civil leaders stage a protest relating to the debt-limit impasse in the Capitol Rotunda. The leaders, who were later arrested, called on Congress "to craft a budget that protects working Americans and requires millionaires and corporations to bear their fair share of the nation's tax burden."

Win McNamee / Getty Images

July 28, 2011

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) at a news conference to discuss budget negotiations.

Bill O'Leary / The Washington Post

July 28, 2011

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) departs a news conference on the budget negotiations.

Bill O'Leary / The Washington Post

July 27, 2011

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), center, praises Medicare recipients and their supporters during a rally and news conference to mark the 46th anniversary of the passage of Medicare in the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center in Washington, D.C. Pelosi used the event to highlight what she called the House Republican's push to end Medicare as part of the ongoing federal budget and debt ceiling crisis.

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

July 26, 2011

Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) steps outside the Senate chamber during a break in debt-reduction debate on Capitol Hill.

Jason Reed / Reuters

July 26, 2011

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) speaks at a news briefing after the Republican weekly policy luncheon on Capitol Hill. Standing with him are, from left, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.).

Alex Wong / Getty Images

July 26, 2011

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) leaves after answering questions on the debt-limit impasse following a meeting of the Republican caucus at the Capitol.

Win McNamee / Getty Images

July 26, 2011

A national debt poster leans against a reception desk in the office of Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) in the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill.

Harry Hamburg / AP

July 25, 2011

President Obama addresses the nation from the East Room of the White House, saying failure to raise the debt ceiling within the next week “would risk sparking a deep economic crisis.”

Jim Watson / AFP/Getty Images

July 25, 2011

Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) poses for photographs after his televised address to the nation about the federal budget and debt ceiling crisis at the U.S. Capitol.

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

July 25, 2011

Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) holds a brief news conference outside his office with House GOP members at the Capitol. Boehner announced new legislation that would raise the debt ceiling in two stages and offer $3 trillion in budget cuts.

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

July 25, 2011

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, right, and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) discuss U.S. debt ceiling talks.

Jason Reed / Reuters

July 24, 2011

Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.), left, and Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), members of the "Gang of Six," discuss debt negotiations on CBS's "Face the Nation." Chambliss said, "It's time for the real leadership in a bipartisan way in the House and Senate to get together and come up with some proposal that can pass the House and the Senate."

Mary Calvert / CBS via AP

July 23, 2011

Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) talks with House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) in Boehner's office.

Harry Hamburg / AP

July 23, 2011

President Obama meets with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker John Boehner at the White House, one day after Boehner announced he was pulling out of debt talks.

Jewel Samad / AFP/Getty Images

July 23, 2011

A small group of college students makes an appeal to President Obama and congressional leaders meeting inside the White House to reach a compromise on the debt limit.

J. Scott Applewhite / AP

July 22, 2011

House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), center, said at a news conference that "there is no plan" on raising the nation's $14.3 trillion borrowing limit.

Alex Brandon / AP

July 22, 2011

“It’s hard to understand why Speaker Boehner would walk away from this kind of deal,” Obama said.

Jewek Samad / AFP/Getty Images

July 22, 2011

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D), center, and Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.) greet President Obama after his town hall event at the University of Maryland.

Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP

July 22, 2011

President Obama used his town hall event in College Park to make his case for a "grand bargain" on debt.

J. Scott Applewhite / AP

July 20, 2011

Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), a member of the Gang of Six, talks about the bipartisan deficit-reduction package the group has put forward.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

July 20, 2011

Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), a member of the Gang of Six, whose plan would shave at least $3.7 trillion off the deficit.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

July 20, 2011

Gang of Six member Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) said his primary push now is for “an option at some point for the Senate and the House to vote on the plan we’ve put together — which is the only bipartisan plan that’s come from anywhere.”

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

July 20, 2011

Officer Angel Morales,left, and Sgt. Kathy Bignotti install new protective sun umbrellas over a Capitol Police post on the west front of the U.S. Capitol as temperatures soared.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

July 20, 2011

From left, Sens. Charles Schumer, (D-N.Y.), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) denounce the House Republicans "Cut, Cap, and Balance Act."

Carolyn Kaster / AP

July 20, 2011

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) ducks behind a flag to talk to an aide during a news conference to denounce the House Republicans balance act.

Carolyn Kaster / AP

July 19, 2011

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), center, the Republican Study Committee chairman is surrounded by fellow House GOP members on Capitol Hill after passage of the conservative deficit reduction plan known as "Cut, Cap and Balance."

/ AP

July 19, 2011

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) speaks to reporters about a bipartisan deficit-reduction package that he and a small group of other senators, known as the "Gang of Six," have put forward. The plan targets savings of $3.7 trillion over a decade.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

July 19, 2011

Boehner, joined by Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) discusses the balanced-budget measure to be voted on in the House.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

July 19

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) speaks to reporters about the bipartisan deficit-reduction package being put forward by the Gang of Six. The plan calls for raising more than $1 trillion over the next decade by reducing a variety of popular tax breaks and deductions, including breaks for home mortgage interest and employer-provided health care.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

July 19, 2011

"For me to say I love this bill that other people have worked on for months and months, I can't do that," Harry Reid told reporters, speaking of the Gang of Six proposal. "Remember," he added, "we have only 13 days."

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

July 19, 2011

From left, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), ranking member on the House Budget Committee; Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.); and Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) listen to a tape of Ronald Reagan asking for a raise in the debt ceiling when he was president in the 1980s. Under the TV are cookies with the words "protect Medicare now" that Larson distributed to reporters during a news conference on Capitol Hill.

Harry Hamburg / AP

July 19, 2011

Rep. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.), center, is joined by other members of Congress outside the White House after releasing a letter to President Obama urging him to deal with the debt ceiling crisis. From left are Reps. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), Diane Black (R-Tenn.), Tim Griffin (R-Ark.), Reed, Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) and Steve Southerland II (R-Fla.).

Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP

July 18, 2011

A demonstrator in front of the Capitol holds placards to protest the impasse over the debt limit.

Kevin lamarque / Reuters

July 18, 2011

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) reveals his "Back in Black" plan to reduce the federal deficit during a news conference on Capitol Hill. Coburn announced that he is rejoining the "Gang of Six" senators working toward a debt ceiling solution.

J. Scott Applewhite / AP

July 18, 2011

House Budget Committee members, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), center, and Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), right, testify before the House Rules Committee on the "Cut, Cap and Balance Act" proposed by tea party-backed House Republicans.

J. Scott Applewhite / AP

July 18, 2011

Members of the group No Labels hold a rally on Capitol Hill to urge Congress and the president to find a bipartisan solution to the fiscal crisis.

Jacquelyn Martin / AP

July 15, 2011

President Obama pauses during the news conference. Obama and Republicans traded demands for a serious deficit plan Friday, underscoring the lack of progress and acrimony plaguing negotiations to avert a looming U.S. government default.

Larry Downing / Reuters

July 15, 2011

Obama said that he is still pushing for "a big deal" on deficit reduction. He warned that time is running out and that lawmakers from both parties need to "set politics aside."

Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP

July 14, 2011

From left to right: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner answer questions from reporters concerning the budget negotiations. "We've looked at all available options, and we have no way to give Congress more time to solve this problem," Geithner told reporters after meeting with Senate Democrats.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

July 14, 2011

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), center, and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) answer questions during a news conference concerning the negotiations.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

July 14, 2011

In the senators-only elevator, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, left, is en route to the White House with Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Deputy Chief of Staff Rohit Kumar to continue budget negotiations and debt-ceiling talks.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

July 14, 2011

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), left, and Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) take part in a news conference about the debt limit on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Evan Vucci / AP

July 14, 2011

House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) speaks during a weekly news conference on Capitol Hill. Pelosi discussed various issues including the budget and debt limit negotiations with the Republicans.

Alex Wong / Getty Images

July 13, 2011

Congresswoman and GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann of Minnesota departs after a news conference where she discussed the debt ceiling. Bachmann said: "President Obama is holding the full faith and credit of the United States hostage so he can continue his spending spree."

Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

July 13, 2011

Ben S. Bernanke, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, delivers his semiannual monetary policy report to the House Financial Services Committee in Washington. Bernanke warned if the U.S. defaults, then there would be a "huge financial calamity."

Joshua Roberts / Bloomberg

July 12, 2011

Clenching a fist to make a point, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) speaks at a press conference after the weekly House Republican Conference. Cantor spoke about negotiations with President Obama and the Democrats.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

July 12, 2011

Soon to be on his way to the White House for continued meetings this afternoon concerning the budget and the debt ceiling, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) enters the Senate Radio and TV Gallery to answer questions from an anxious media concerning the negotiations.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

July 12, 2011

McConnell offered a "last-choice" option for meeting the Aug. 2 deadline for raising the debt limit.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

July 10, 2011

From left, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House John A. Boehner, President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid sit before their meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House. Talks between Obama and congressional leaders failed to break a partisan stalemate over how to raise the federal borrowing limit, leaving the politically charged negotiations in limbo with three weeks remaining before the administration says the country will begin to default.

Brendan Smialowski / Getty Images

July 7, 2011

President Obama takes part in a meeting with congressional leaders including House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), left, at the White House. Obama hosted Republican leaders for talks on an elusive deal to raise the country’s debt limit and avert an early-August default that could unleash global economic shock waves.

Mandel Ngan / AFP/Getty Images

July 7, 2011

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) speaks with reporters on Capitol Hill. Pelosi spoke to reporters about a meeting she attended with President Obama and other congressional leaders about resolving the United States' debt crisis and the potential of the country defaulting on its debt.

Brendan Smialowski / Getty Images

July 6, 2011

President Obama answers a tweet from House Speaker John Boehner during a "Twitter Town Hall" in the East Room of the White House.

Charles Dharapak / AP

July 6, 2011

Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) talks to reporters about the looming deadline on raising the federal debt limit.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

July 6, 2011

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said he's willing to consider Democratic demands on tax breaks as long as the final deal does not raise tax rates or overall federal tax collections.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

July 6, 2011

“If the president wants to talk loopholes, we’ll be glad to talk loopholes,” Cantor said.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

July 6, 2011

Republican Sens. Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), John Barrasso (Wyo.), John Cornyn (Tex.), Jon Kyl (Ariz.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) talk to reporters.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

July 6, 2011

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) speaks about wasteful tax breaks, while flanked by Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn), left, Sen. Frank Lautenberg, (D-N.J.) and others during a news conference. Stabenow talked about a Senate Resolution calling for ending wasteful tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires as part of talks to reduce the deficit and address the debt ceiling crisis.

Mark Wilson / Getty Images

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