President Signs Debt Ceiling Increase
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WASHINGTON — President Reagan signed Monday a stop-gap borrowing measure that temporarily raises the national debt ceiling to $2.3 trillion from $2.1 trillion.
The bill--necessary to allow the government to borrow to pay its bills--was passed in the closing hours of Congress before adjournment last week.
Congress must deal with a proposal for a long-term extension of the federal debt to $2.8 trillion when it returns next month.
By approving the temporary extension, the lawmakers delayed the need for action on a more comprehensive package that would change the Gramm-Rudman balanced budget law to relax annual deficit reduction targets.
The measure would also restore a section of the Gramm-Rudman law that would force automatic spending cuts if Congress and the President fail to devise a plan to meet deficit targets.
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