After turning back approximately a dozen amendments during the floor debate last night, the Senate adopted by a 63 to 36 vote the debt limit bill, clearing it for the President’s signature later today. The Treasury Department had been warning that the nation would lose its ability to pay all of its bills next Monday. The House cleared the bill earlier this week.
While the fight over the debt limit has become much more partisan and political recently, this year’s fight represents the closest the nation has come to actually defaulting on its debts.