Congress, White House, set to raise debt ceiling again
Congress is poised to raise the debt ceiling once again.
Another debt limit hike is on the way, as sources familiar with Capitol Hill budget talks say White House officials and senior congressional leaders have struck a deal to keep government operational for two more years, primarily by raising the ceiling of tax dollar spending.
The Hill reported the deal “would extend the debt ceiling to March 2017 and bust budget limits set by a 2011 agreement that imposed a decade of reduced spending known as sequestration on the government.”
In numbers, caps would raise by $112 billion in fiscal 2016 and 2017, a source told the Hill.
The money would be split on both defense and non-defense issues. It would also be used to restructure Social Security Disability Insurance in what Republicans are crowing as the program’s first major overhaul in years, the Hill said.
The budget is expected to go to vote as early as Wednesday, giving House speaker hopeful Paul Ryan his first major issue to negotiate. Elections on the speaker slot are set for Wednesday and by most media accounts, Ryan has the votes to win.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has decried the idea of government shutting down before the 2016 elections, and this budget deal would guarantee that scenario would not occur. At the same time, hikes to the debt ceiling have been a major sticking point for the more conservative wing of the Republican Party, and an especial concern for those backed by tea party activists.
The Hill reported several Freedom Caucus members have already made their dissatisfaction with the deal known to John Boehner, the present speaker who’s reportedly resigning his congressional seat in the coming days.
Rep. Justin Amash, for example, told Boehner the negotiations were a “perfect example” of how the political system in Washington is broken.
And Boehner’s response?
President Obama is only seeking to use the budget impasse to shutter government operations and blame Republicans.
“We can fall into that trap,” Boehner said, the Hill reported, citing a source at the closed-door meeting with Freedom Causus members, “or we can lead.”
The White House, through spokesman Josh Earnest, said the deal still needs a bit of work.
“Not everything has been agreed to,” he said to reporters, the Hill reported. “That means nothing has been agreed to. We continue to urge Republicans to engage constructively with Democrats to find common ground and do the right thing for the country.”
As the Congressional Research Service reported, Congress has been raising the debt limit for years now.
“Congress has modified the debt limit 14 times since 2001. Congress raised the limit in June 2002, May 2003, November 2004, March 2006, and September 2007. The 2007-2008 fiscal crisis and
subsequent economic slowdown led to sharply higher deficits in recent years, which led to a series of debt limit increases,” the CRS reported in its “Debt Limit: History and Recent Increases” reported published October 1.
The report went on: “The federal debt again reached its limit on May 16, 2011, prompting the Treasury Secretary to invoke authorities to use extraordinary measures to extend Treasury’s borrowing capacity. … Federal debt reached its limit on December 31, 2012. Extraordinary measures were again used until February 4, 2013, when H.R. 325, which suspended the debt limit until May 19, 2013, was signed into law (P.L. 113-3). When that suspension expired, the debt limit was set at $16,699 billion and extraordinary measures were reemployed. On September 25, Treasury Secretary Lew notified Congress that the government would exhaust its borrowing capacity around October 17. On October 16, 2013, Congress passed and the President signed a continuing resolution (H.R. 2775; P.L. 113-46) that included a suspension of the debt limit through February 7, 2014.”
And the most recent, as CRS said: “On February 11, 2014, the House voted to suspend the debt limit (S. 540; P.L. 113-83) through March 15, 2015. The Senate approved the measure the next day and the President signed it on February 15, 2014. The debt limit was reset on March 16, 2015, at $18.1 trillion. On October 1, 2015, Secretary Lew stated that extraordinary measures would be exhausted about November 5, 2015, although a relatively small cash reserve would remain on hand.”
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