US Senate gives final approval to debt ceiling deal, sending it to Biden

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00:00 The Senate has been sitting on the sidelines for much of this saga as the House of Representatives

00:07 thrashed out this deal over a long period, but the Senate got its chance today and it was a

00:13 fairly lengthy debate, I think with the result never in much doubt. We did have 11 amendments

00:21 come forward, mostly from Republicans who, like some of their colleagues in the House,

00:26 feel that this bill does not do enough to rein in government spending. They wanted tougher

00:33 work requirements for people on food benefits and other measures to really reduce government

00:41 expenditure, but all of those were defeated. A Democrat also put forward an amendment

00:48 objecting to the way that this bill fast tracks a gas pipeline through West Virginia and Virginia

00:56 environmental concerns there, but that was also turned down, with the Senate leader Chuck Schumer

01:02 warning that any amendment here, any kind of delay, could send it back to the House and make

01:06 a government default almost certain. In the end, the Senate voted 63 to 36 in favour of this bill.

01:18 Chuck Schumer delighted, as he put it, that they've saved the nation from the scourge of default

01:25 Tremendous relief as this now goes to Joe Biden's desk for signature pretty soon.

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