US House passes Boehner debt plan

29 July 2011 Last updated at 18:46 ET

John Boehner said his plan advanced the “great cause of a balanced budget amendment”

The US House of Representatives has passed a Republican bill proposed by Speaker John Boehner to increase the nation’s debt ceiling.

Mr Boehner’s plan passed the House by a vote of 218-210, with 22 Republicans and every Democrat voting against.

It includes $900bn of spending cuts and is not expected to pass the Democratic-controlled Senate in its current form.

The US risks defaulting on its financial obligations if a federal budget deal is not struck by 2 August.

Continued disagreements

Prior to the vote, Mr Boehner told Congress the plan advanced the “great cause of a balanced budget amendment”.

Mr Boehner appeared heated in front of his colleagues in the House, slamming his fist on a podium on Friday evening and calling for lawmakers to pass his proposal.

The plan calls for a vote on an amendment to the US constitution – a move Democrats say is certain to be rejected by the Senate.

Mr Boehner said Republicans had tried their “level best” to reach a deal.

“I stuck my neck out a mile to get an agreement with the president of the United States,” Mr Boehner said, referring to negotiations with President Obama that twice broke down.

“My colleagues, I can tell I have worked with the president and the administration since the beginning of this year to avoid being in this spot,” he added.

“A lot of people in this town can never say yes,” Mr Boehner said.

A vote on the Republican plan was originally set for Thursday but was rescheduled for Friday evening after Mr Boehner suspected the proposal lacked support within his own party.

The US government will start running out of money to pay all its bills unless a $14.3tn (£8.79tn) borrowing limit is increased by Tuesday.

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