The US Congress has approved a deal to lift the country’s borrowing limit, days before the world’s largest economy defaults on its debt.
The bipartisan measure sped through the Senate by a 63-36 vote, a day after it passed the U.S. House of Representatives.
President Joe Biden has said he will sign the measure into law.
His signature on the bill would save the US from a catastrophic default on its $31.4tn (£25tn) debt.
The country is forecast to end its current debt ceiling on Monday, June 5.
A default would limit the government’s ability to borrow more money or pay all its bills. It would also risk spillovers abroad, affecting prices and mortgage rates in other countries.
In Thursday night’s session, the bill passed with the support of 44 Democrats and 17 Republicans, plus two independents.
Sixty votes were needed to pass the measure in the 100-seat chamber, which is controlled only by Democrats.
Thirty-one Republicans were opposed, including John Barrasso, a member of the party’s leadership in the chamber.
The four Democrats who voted against included left-wing senators Bernie Sanders, John Fetterman and Elizabeth Warren.
Senators first proposed 11 amendments to the debt ceiling bill, but all were rejected in quick order, paving the way for a final vote.
If even one of the amendments passed, the entire bill would have to be sent back to the House, leaving little time to ensure final passage of the measure before America falls off the fiscal cliff.
“America can breathe a sigh of relief, a sigh of relief because in the process we are avoiding default,” Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told the Senate.
In a rare display of bipartisanship, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters he would be “proud to support it without delay.”
The deal easily cleared the House on Wednesday evening by a vote of 314-117. About 165 Democrats passed the required simple majority to 149 Republicans.
With Republicans dominating the lower house of Congress and Democrats dominating the Senate and the White House, a deal proved elusive for weeks until Mr. Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy hammered out a compromise late last week.
The deal suspends the debt ceiling, a spending ceiling set by Congress that determines how much the government can borrow until Jan. 1, 2025.
The independent Congressional Budget Office said on Tuesday that the legislation would result in savings of $1.5tn over a decade.
The bill’s contents drew objections from both right-wing Republicans and left-wing Democrats, but there were enough political centers in both parties to push it through.
The last time the US came close to breaching its debt ceiling, in 2011, credit agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded the country’s rating, a move that has yet to be reversed.
Ahead of the Senate vote, U.S. stock markets gained, with the Dow closing 0.5 percent higher. The broader S&P 500 index rose 1% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the day 1.3% higher.
