WASHINGTON ? A divided Senate approved an $800 billion increase in the federal debt limit Wednesday.
Sen. John Kerry and other Democrats blamed the major boost in borrowing on the fiscal policies of President Bush.
The 52-44 vote, mostly along party lines, is expected to be followed by House passage today. Enactment would raise the government's borrowing limit to $8.18 trillion ? more than eight times the total federal debt that existed when Ronald Reagan took office in 1981.
In his first remarks on the Senate floor since his presidential bid ended in defeat two weeks ago, Kerry said his former opponent had presided over ?the worst fiscal turnaround in our nation's entire history.?
He was referring to the change from the $5.6 trillion in surpluses that was projected for the next 10 years when Bush took office in 2001 to the $2.3 trillion in deficits now estimated for the coming decade.
?This can be called a birth tax, a birth tax that is dumped on the back of every American child unwillingly,? said Kerry, who voted against the borrowing increase.
Republican senators did not join in the debate, underscoring how politically uncomfortable the measure is for them.
That discomfort was highlighted when they refused to bring the bill to a vote before the election.
Administration officials urged lawmakers to act quickly. The government reached its $7.38 trillion borrowing cap last month, and since then the Treasury Department has paid federal bills by taking cash from a civil service retirement account, which it plans to repay.
Failure to raise the debt ceiling could force a default and leave the government unable to pay Social Security recipients, federal workers and other obligations.
