The U.S. House of Representatives approved on Monday a deal struck between the White House and congressional leaders that would raise the nation's debt ceiling by at least $2.1 trillion from the current $14.3 trillion.
The House lawmakers voted 269-161 in favor of the measure and sent it to the Senate for final congressional approval.
In addition to raising the debt ceiling, the crucial agreement cuts about $1 trillion in federal spending over a decade and establishes a bipartisan committee to report by November with a proposal to reduce the U.S. deficit by another $1.5 trillion.
The deal needs to pass both houses of Congress to become law. The Senate is expected to vote on Tuesday.
Republicans, who control the House of Representatives, and Democrats, who control the Senate, were locked in a political impasse over the U.S. debt ceiling for weeks, fueling fears about a potential collapse of the U.S. economy and a subsequent turmoil on the global markets.
