United States President Joe Biden signed a bill– approved by the Senate and House of Representatives– on Thursday pushing the country’s debt limit by $2.5 trillion. The clear passage of the legislation potentially avoided a government default.

The move comes after United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen pushed lawmakers to find a solution to the looming shutdown. The House of Representatives gave the final congressional approval earlier this week with a close vote.

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Only one member of the Republican Party — Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois– joined the Democrats in raising the debt limit of the country. The final vote tally was 221-209.

However, the real challenge was faced in the United States Senate, which is thinly divided between the two parties. The congressional leaders reportedly struck a deal to simmer the issue until after next year’s midterm elections.

Republicans used the debt limit to attack Democrats’ big-spending social and environmental agenda while pledging to staunchly oppose the effort to increase the threshold.

In a tweet, Biden wrote, “Members of both parties came together to ensure that the federal government does not default on past debts. Defaulting would be a catastrophe for our economy, and it is a responsibility of governing to make sure we pay what we owe.”

Despite a seemingly straightforward name, the nation’s debt limit does little to curtail future debt. Established in 1917, it instead serves as a brake on spending decisions already endorsed by Republicans and Democrats alike — in some cases decades ago — that if left unpaid could cripple markets, send the economy into a tailspin and shake global confidence in the United States, according to reports from Associated Press.