US House passes debt limit bill
Published:Tuesday | August 2, 2011 | 12:44 PM
The US House of Representatives has passed by 269 votes to 161 a last-ditch deal to avoid a federal debt default.
The legislation must now be passed by the Senate and approved by President Barack Obama to become law.
It would raise the debt ceiling by up to $2.4 trillion from $14.3 trillion.
It will also allow for savings amounting to $2.3billion s over 10 years.
After months of bitterly partisan deadlock, Republican and Democratic leaders backed the bill yesterday, ratifying a deal sealed the night before with a phone call from House Speaker John Boehner to President Obama.