The US House of Representatives Monday approved a last-gasp bipartisan ceiling plan to raise the US borrowing limit in a decisive step to avert a looming debt default crisis.

US Representative Gabrielle Giffords (R-TX) (C) waves to colleagues on the floor of the House of Representatives, moments after the House voted to raise the US borrowing limit, in Washington in this still image taken from video August 1, 2011. [China Daily via agencies]

The 269-161 vote in the Republican-controlled House of the US$2.1 trillion deficit-cutting plan cleared a key hurdle for the Senate to approve it, Reuters said.

The passage of the bill in the lower chamber came after House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican, and Vice President Joe Biden, a Democrat, Monday struggled to get rank-and-file support from their parties and secure its passage, according to a Xinhua report.

The plan aimed at slashing deficit for US$2.1 trillion over the next decade, setting up a powerful new congressional bipartisan committee to find new ways on deficit cutting, and raising the US borrowing limit through 2013.

The US federal government's borrowing limit of US$14. 29 trillion currently was reached on May 16. The Treasury Department said that it would run out of cash to pay its bills unless the Congress agreed to raise the limit by August 2.

Reuters reported that the Democratic-controlled Senate was due to vote on the bill at noon (1600 GMT) on Tuesday and was widely expected to pass it. This would send it to the desk of President Barack Obama, who has said he is anxious to sign the bill.

"If the bill were presented to the president, he would sign it," the White House said in a Monday statement prior to the House vote.

The House vote of approval had been considered the biggest obstacle to a solution of the crisis.

Obama announced Sunday night that he had reached a last-minute debt ceiling deal with Republican and Democratic leaders to avert a looming debt crisis.

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