How did the U.S. get to its current level of indebtedness? 2:03

(CNN) -- The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill to raise the nation's debt ceiling until Jan. 1, 2025, as lawmakers race to avert a catastrophic default.

The final result of the vote was 314 votes in favour and 117 against. A total of 149 Republicans and 165 Democrats voted in favor, while 71 Republicans and 46 Democrats voted against.

The bill must be approved by the Senate before being sent to President Joe Biden to become law. In the Senate, any lawmaker can delay a snap vote and it's not yet clear when the final vote will take place.

The deadline for passing the bill in Congress is extremely tight and there is little margin for error, putting enormous pressure on leaders of both parties.

  • What is the debt ceiling in the US and why is the threat of default so worrisome? What you need to know

Lawmakers are racing against the clock to avoid the first-ever default before June 5, when the Treasury Department said it will no longer be able to pay all of the nation's obligations in full and on time, a scenario that could trigger a global economic catastrophe.

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Suspending the debt limit until 2025 removes the threat of default until after the presidential election. In addition to addressing the debt limit, the bill limits non-defense spending, expands work requirements for some food stamp recipients, and recovers some covid-19 relief funds, among other policy provisions.

The bipartisan agreement on the debt limit reached by the White House and House Republicans was announced over the weekend, the culmination of long days and nights of contentious negotiations that, at times, looked like they were going to fail and fall apart completely. The effort to reach a debt ceiling deal is an important test of leadership for both House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Biden.

The deal faced backlash from far-left and far-right lawmakers, but a significant number of members on both sides of the aisle — many of them moderates — have signaled they support the bill.

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