OnPolitics: Debt ceiling deal passes in House, onto the Senate

Amy Nakamura, USA TODAY
·4 min read
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., walks to the chamber for a vote, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 7, 2021. Senate leaders announced an agreement to extend the government's borrowing authority into December, temporarily averting an unprecedented default that experts say would have decimated the economy. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) ORG XMIT: DCSA124

Happy Wednesday, OnPolitics readers!

Some politicians like Republican Glenn Youngkin, who was recently elected governor of Virginia, want voters to pay peanuts for well… peanuts.

During his campaign, Youngkin promised to eliminate the state's 2.5% grocery sales tax. Virginia is one of 13 states that imposes a tax on groceries.

Inflation has surged to a 31-year high, and prices for U.S. consumers jumped 6.2% in October compared with a year earlier, according to the Department of Labor, which will unveil its latest inflation numbers Friday.

Across the aisle: Youngkin isn't alone in taking on the tax, which tends to have a greater impact on people who make less money. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, wants to eliminate her state's grocery tax, and state lawmakers across the U.S. have made similar pitches.

It's Amy with today's top stories out of Washington.

House passes agreement to deal with debt ceiling

The House voted overwhelmingly along party lines Tuesday evening on a bipartisan agreement that allows Congress to move closer to raising the nation's debt ceiling.

The vote came after leadership in the Senate, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced an agreement Tuesday that would create a one-time process to allow Senate Democrats to raise the debt ceiling on their own without fear of a Republican filibuster or other procedural hurdles.

We're not out of the woods yet: The agreement, once it also passes the Senate, would create a fast-track process to allow Democrats in the upper chamber to increase the debt limit with just 51 votes, or a simple majority.

Under standard rules, a vote to raise the debt ceiling would need 60 votes, meaning at least 10 Republicans would need to join Democrats to push the measure through an evenly split Senate. But Senate Republicans have been reluctant to help Democrats raise the debt ceiling, and have blocked a long-term increase to the debt limit.

The agreement itself would require 10 Republicans to join Democrats to pass, but McConnell said earlier Tuesday he was "confident this particular procedure coupled with the avoidance of Medicare cuts will achieve enough Republican support to clear the 60-vote threshold."

Real Quick: stories you'll want to read

Congress stepping in on sexual assault reform in the military

Congress is poised to strip authority from military commanders to prosecute sex offenses, a move victims' advocates have sought for more than a decade while the Pentagon has failed to stem sexual assault in the ranks.

The measure, which passed the House Tuesday, would task independent military lawyers with prosecuting sexual assault cases. That would remove the authority that commanders, who are typically not lawyers, have in making decisions on charging and trying their own troops.

The measure is part of the National Defense Authorization Act, considered vital legislation that directs Pentagon spending and has passed annually for 60 years. The Senate is expected to pass it as early as this week, and then it would head to President Joe Biden's desk for his signature.

When will these changes occur? The changes would go into effect in two years, according to a Senate staffer who was not authorized to speak publicly.

“This is a very big deal," said Don Christensen, the former chief prosecutor for the Air Force and president of Protect Our Defenders, an advocacy group for victims of sexual assault in the military. "Today is the culmination of years of advocacy from military sexual assault survivors, their families and supporters. The provisions included in this year’s NDAA are the most transformative military justice reforms in our nation’s history."

Cryptocurrency CEOs spoke about regulations on the Hill today at the House Financial Services committee. Following their testimony, here are 10 cryptocurrency terms people use everyday. — Amy

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: House passes debt ceiling deal, moves onto Senate