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June 3 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden signed the Fiscal Responsibility Act on Saturday, officially ending the ongoing debt limit crisis that placed the United States at risk of a first-ever default. The White House said in a statement that Biden signed the law, H.R. 3746, as well as another that requires the administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to establish a task force "to provide recommendations for improvement of Notices to Air Missions."
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Biden's signature came just days ahead of the date U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the government would run out of money to pay its debts, an inflection point that could have resulted in global economic instability.
Biden praised the bipartisan debt ceiling deal in a speech from the Oval Office on Friday, calling the passing of the budgetary agreement critical for the economy while reflecting the values of the nation.
"We're cutting spending and bringing deficits down," Biden said. "And, we protected important priorities from Social Security to Medicare to Medicaid to veterans to our transformational investments in infrastructure and clean energy."
The U.S. Senate passed the legislation Thursday night with a vote of 63-36, despite four Democrats and Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, voting "no."
There were 17 Republicans that joined the majority of Democrats in voting for the legislation, including Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.
Other Republicans that voted for the legislation included Sens. John Cornyn of Texas, Susan Collins of Maine, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah.
"We saved the country from the scourge of default," Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said.
Though a global economic crisis has been averted, Schumer told Brooklyn College graduates in his commencement speech Friday after the bill was passed that they are entering the workforce during a time of profound economic change.
