House nixes $1.2T hike in debt limit in symbolic gesture - Washington Times

House nixes $1.2T hike in debt limit in symbolic gesture - Washington Times: In its first real bit of business to mark the new year, the House passed a symbolic Republican measure against President Obama’s request to increase the federal debt limit by $1.2 trillion.

Last summer’s bipartisan debt and budget agreement allowed the White House to automatically raise the debt ceiling 15 days after the president officially notifies lawmakers that the government is close to the current $15.2 trillion cap. The administration’s request can be halted if both chambers of Congress agree.

The measure opposing raising the debt limit passed 239 to 176, largely along partisan lines. Six Democrats supported the measure, and only one Republican — House Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier of California — rejected it. Two Republicans voted “present.”