The US House of Representatives has passed a debt ceiling bill aimed at averting a catastrophic default. The bill next goes to the US Senate before it can be passed into law.

Members of the US House of Representatives are voting Wednesday in Washington on a bill to raise what is known as the "debt ceiling." Lawmakers in both houses of Congress need to approve legislation before Monday to prevent the government from going into default.

President Joe Biden has seen the debt rise above 31 trillion dollars. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy insisted on spending cuts in return for the Republicans' support for the bill. Biden and McCarthy reached a deal over the weekend, but some hard-right members say the cuts are not deep enough.

McCarthy says he is confident the bill will pass the Republican-controlled House. He says they will pass the "largest cut in American history" and "work reforms for welfare."

Those reforms would require Americans who depend on federal aid to work more or get training. That has angered progressive Democrats who have also lined up against the deal.

Party leaders do not have enough votes to pass the legislation on their own. So, they are trying to cobble together a coalition to avoid what economists promise would be a catastrophe.