Tag Archive for: debt ceiling

Here Are The 17 GOP Senators Who Voted For Unlimited Spending

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The U.S. Senate passed legislation late Thursday night to raise the nation’s debt ceiling, and the bill is now headed to President Joe Biden’s desk.

The legislation passed with 17 Republicans joining 46 Democrats to suspend the debt ceiling until Jan. 2025. Five Democrats broke with their party. Ahead of the June 5 deadline, the federal government will now avoid a default on its debt.

Here Are The 17 Republicans Who Voted For Unlimited Spending:  

  • Arkansas Sen. John Boozman
  • West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito
  • Maine Sen. Susan Collins
  • Texas Sen. John Cornyn
  • North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer
  • Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst
  • Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley
  • North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven
  • Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran
  • Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell
  • Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski
  • Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin
  • Utah Sen. Mitt Romney
  • South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds
  • South Dakota Sen. John Thune
  • North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis
  • Indiana Sen. Todd Young

After passing the legislation, Republicans such as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who supported the bill, released statements detailing why they voted in favor of the legislation.

“Four months after Speaker McCarthy invited President Biden to begin negotiating a resolution to the looming debt crisis, an important step toward fiscal sanity will finally become law. Thanks to House Republicans’ efforts, the Fiscal Responsibility Act avoids the catastrophic consequences of default and begins to curb Washington Democrats’ addiction to reckless spending that grows our nation’s debt.”

On the Senate floor, Sen. Cornyn said, “This bill will reduce federal spending by $1.5 trillion over the next decade, which is a strong start in the fight to right America’s financial ship.”

However, Republicans who voted against raising the nation’s debt ceiling, such as Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz had different tones.

“On the debt ceiling, my view is the most important deficit we face is the trade deficit with China. Every dollar represents jobs lost (60k & counting in Missouri), industry lost, communities decimated. We’ve got to quit making China rich & get good blue-collar jobs back in USA. This deal doesn’t do that. So I’m a no,” Hawley, who voted against the legislation, said in a statement Thursday.

Cruz said: “While there were some good elements to this deal, such as reclaiming some unspent Covid-19 funds, there were a lot of elements that were disappointing. I’m upset this agreement did not cut more, and I’m frustrated this agreement adds a lot to the debt in exchange for relatively few spending cuts.”

AUTHOR

HENRY RODGERS

Chief national correspondent.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

The House Just Passed The Fiscal Responsibility Act. Here’s What’s In It

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The House of Representatives passed on Wednesday night the Fiscal Responsibility Act, which would raise the debt ceiling into January 2025.

The legislation, negotiated by Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden, allows the federal government to take on unlimited debt through January 1, 2025. Both parties overwhelmingly supported the Fiscal Responsibility Act, with 165 Democrats and 149 Republicans voting in favor. Seventy-one Republicans and 46 Democrats opposed it. The Senate is planning to take up the legislation immediately, since the federal government will likely default on its debt on June 5.

As part of McCarthy and Biden’s negotiations, the two agreed on various provisions that will impact the federal budget over the next several years. Here’s what’s in the Fiscal Responsibility Act:

Debt ceiling increase:

The key provision of the Fiscal Responsibility Act suspends the debt ceiling through January 1, 2025. Unlike the House-passed Limit, Save, Grow Act, the Fiscal Responsibility Act does not raise the debt ceiling by a specific dollar amount. The Limit, Save, Grow Act would have raised the debt ceiling through March 2024 or by $1.5 trillion.

Critics of the Fiscal Responsibility Act like Republican South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott have argued that the failure to affix a dollar amount to the debt ceiling effectively gives President Joe Biden “an open checkbook.” Others have placed the Fiscal Responsibility Act’s effective debt ceiling increase at $4 trillion.

Spending caps:

The Fiscal Responsibility Act caps non-defense discretionary spending at Fiscal Year 2022 levels for Fiscal Year 2024. It sets FY2024 non-defense discretionary spending at $704 billion, and the same category at $711 billion in FY2025. Defense discretionary spending will be set at $886 billion in FY2024 and $895 billion in FY2025. It also encourages Congress to pass appropriations bills for each of the 12 cabinet-level federal agencies by imposing sequestration if the individual bills are not passed.

“This bill, in year one, might cut $12 billion, if you just want to be generous,” Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, who opposes the legislation, said Tuesday. “The spending caps that are in this deal are something we were not supportive of and I will tell you that all the spending caps do is keep the post-COVID spending levels for the federal agencies intact.”

Permitting reform:

One provision requires the Secretary of the Army to approve all permits related to the Mountain Valley Pipeline within three weeks of the bill’s passage, a significant win for embattled Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin. Manchin attempted to pass permitting reform and get the pipeline approved in the 117th Congress, but a left-wing revolt killed his Energy Independence and Security Act. Several Democrats, including Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine and Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva, have announced their opposition to the pipeline’s inclusion.

Other provisions, adopted from the Energy Independence and Security Act, require environmental impact assessments to be completed within one year and environmental impact statements within two years. Those limits amend the National Environmental Policy Act.

Funding clawbacks:

The Fiscal Responsibility Act claws back $28 billion in unspent COVID-19 stimulus funds. It also cuts $1.4 billion in IRS funding, and the White House and GOP leadership reportedly have a handshake agreement to redirect $20 billion more.

AUTHOR

MICHAEL GINSBERG

Congressional correspondent.

RELATED ARTICLE: ‘A Step In The Right Direction’: Speaker McCarthy Defends Debt Ceiling Agreement After Conservative Criticism

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Econ Expert on the GOP’s Debt Ceiling Hand: ‘We’re Holding Four Aces’

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When members of Congress started boarding their flights home Thursday, not one of them knew how long they’d be gone. The possibility of a shorter-than-usual Memorial Day recess looms large as negotiators desperately try to hammer out a deal on the debt ceiling before June 1. “Every hour matters,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told ABC. “That’s why the White House has to become very serious about this.” To the average observer, it sounds ominous. But as Americans prep for the long weekend, plenty are wondering, how does any of this affect me?

Former congressman Dave Brat, who has a Ph.D. in economics, gets that question a lot. But first, he told “Washington Watch” guest host Jody Hice, it’s important to understand one thing: “It’s impossible to default.” You’ll never hear that in the mainstream media, he explained, but “we have way more money [available]. A default means you default on the U.S. Treasury Bond. If we ever defaulted on the U.S. Treasury, we’d all be fishing under a bridge with Frodo,” the dean of Liberty University’s School of Business joked. “It would be the end of Western civilization. So that’s not even in play.”

All of this hysteria, Brat says, stems from the “word games” the Left and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen are playing. “What she’s talking about is paying all the bills for all Democratic spending. That may not happen, and that’s not a big deal. You just prioritize your spending in order. But we have plenty of money to pay off any interest on the debt in treasuries. And so, the American treasury holder doesn’t need to be worried about that.”

That doesn’t mean this isn’t a critical moment for our country, Brat explained. Right now, the Democratic-run Senate doesn’t have a budget plan. House Republicans do. “So all the leverage is on the Republican side right now.” And what does the GOP want? To cut spending. President Joe Biden and his party have, so far, flatly refused. But we’re on the verge of having $50 trillion dollars in debt to “hand off to the kids in 10 years,” Brat warns. With an interest rate of 5%, taxpayers are looking at $2.5 trillion a year just in interest payments. “That’s three times the U.S. military budget right now,” he emphasized, and none of it pays down the actual debt.

In other words, “there are $2 trillion deficits for the next 10 years around the necks of the kids. Everybody knows this, but the mainstream press will not cover any of [it],” Brat shook his head. To deal with that, “our friends [in the House] Freedom Caucus, who are being called every nasty word there is — ‘MAGA Republicans,’ ‘Republican extremists’ — they want to trim $4 trillion off of the $50 trillion in debt.” We’re not talking about a radical amount, he insisted. America would still be $46 trillion in debt in a decade. So it should be “an easy case to make to the American people” that we need to start trimming back.

As Hice pointed out, “We’re talking numbers that are astronomical that no one can even imagine [them].” And that’s part of the problem, Brat agreed. Another problem is that most people are too comfortable borrowing themselves. “The American consumer right now is $17 trillion in debt. Consumers have $1 trillion in credit card debt, $1.5 trillion in college loan debt. We’re in debt up to our eyeballs. And we’ve got a recession coming up, another financial crisis caused by the Federal Reserve for their mismanagement.”

By keeping the interest rate at 0% for a decade, the Fed has done the country a major disservice. [They’re] in a tough bind,” he explained, “[because] they basically want inflation, so they can pay the debt back with cheaper dollars. And so that’s where we stand.”

But this idea that we’re going to default on the total spending package, on $50 trillion, is baloney. “There’s no way,” Brat insisted. Even so, both sides need to come together on the debt ceiling, and Republicans “have the moral high ground for a change.” All they have to do is “tell the American people the basic facts, and you win.”

Changing America’s spending habits is “a hard, hard fight,” Brat agreed. “So you better fight now while we’ve got the leverage.” Remember, he went on, “Our team passed a bill. The Senate has not. Everything is on our side. Biden said. ‘I’m not going to negotiate. I don’t care’ and thumbed his nose at the whole thing. … But we need to hold strong. It’s time to take care of the American people and the kids. The liberals say they care about the kids. Fifty trillion dollars in debt means otherwise. They do not care about the kids.”

At least GOP leaders seem to understand the stakes, Hice said. “I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a time where the Republicans [have appeared so] unified. … Literally in the hands of Republicans right now is the tool to roll back out-of-control spending.” But will Republicans hold together?

“Yeah,” Brat replied. “If they do not, they will cease to be a party,” he warned. “We’re holding four aces.”

AUTHOR

Suzanne Bowdey

Suzanne Bowdey serves as editorial director and senior writer at The Washington Stand.

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2023 Family Research Council.

The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

No, You Can’t Invoke the 14th Amendment to Raise the Debt Ceiling

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Earlier this month, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned the U.S. could run out of money to pay its bills by June 1 if Congress does not raise the debt ceiling. This has led to a game of chicken between the White House and the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

President Biden has demanded Congress pass legislation that raises the debt ceiling without any changes to the way the federal government spends money. House Republicans passed a budget bill that would raise the debt ceiling but would also return government spending to 2022 levels. In addition, citing the fact that Social Security is on pace to be insolvent by 2035, the Republican spending plan proposes modifications to Social Security that would increase its chances of long-term sustainability. The White House has opposed all of it.

Instead of compromising with the majority of Republicans in the House, some on the Left have come up with a theory that would allow them to act unilaterally. In fact, Senate Democrats held a press conference encouraging President Biden to “invoke the 14th Amendment” so they can raise the debt ceiling without the involvement of the Congress.

As a matter of habit, the U.S. spends more money than we bring in. As a result, we’re forced to borrow money each month to pay the bills, which means that next month’s bill is always higher than last month’s bill. The U.S. debt is now over $31 trillion dollars, which represents more than $94,000 per citizen. It was only $12 trillion in 2010.

Because of our habitual overspending, Congress routinely considers legislation to raise the debt ceiling. In fact, Congress has raised the debt limit 13 times since 2000. Despite our familiarity with debt limit debates, no one has ever proposed “invoking the 14th Amendment” as a way of raising the debt limit before. The reason no one has ever proposed it before is because it’s nonsense.

The 14th Amendment does many things, but the relevant section for this discussion is Section 4, which says:

“The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations, and claims shall be held illegal and void.”

The 14th Amendment was passed right after the Civil War in 1868 and sought to put the issues of the Civil War in the past in several ways. It clarified that all people, regardless of their skin color, would enjoy equal protection under the law. In addition, to avoid any attempts to revive the struggle, it prohibited civil and military officers who had supported the Confederacy from holding any state or federal office again. Most relevant to this discussion, it also said the debts of the Union “shall not be questioned” but the Union was not going to pay the debts of the Confederacy.

Now, you have most Democrats in the U.S. Senate claiming that this language — which was unambiguously a promise to pay Union debt but not Confederate debt — somehow gives President Biden the power to ignore Congress when it comes to debt ceiling legislation in 2023.

While this interpretation is absurd on its face, it’s worth remembering the Supreme Court was recently convinced the word “sex” actually means “gender identity,” and by extension the word “woman” actually means “anyone who wants to be a woman.” Once you’ve accepted the progressive claim that language can mean anything you want it to mean, the only limits to the Constitution are the limits to your creativity.

To be fair, even if there was an attempt to “invoke the 14th Amendment” to unilaterally raise the debt ceiling, legal challenges would follow and the Supreme Court would likely halt the effort as the unconstitutional abuse of power it would be.

The good news is, there are points of agreement in this debate. Both the president and Congress agree a default on U.S. debt would be terrible. But whatever the problem is, consolidating political power into the hands of one man and destroying the checks and balances our system is built upon is not the solution.

If Democrats doubt this, they would do well to remember that once upon a time, they didn’t love the president, and that guy is trying to be president again. If they don’t want to live in a world where a crazy old guy is doing whatever he wants from the White House, they shouldn’t try to create a world in which a crazy old guy is allowed to do whatever he wants in the White House.

AUTHOR

Joseph Backholm

Joseph Backholm is Senior Fellow for Biblical Worldview and Strategic Engagement at Family Research Council.

RELATED ARTICLE: Yellen: 14th Amendment Can’t Appropriately Be Used to Raise Debt Ceiling

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2023 Family Research Council.

The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

Trump Says GOP Should Not Cut Social Security As Part Of Spending Deal

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Former President Donald Trump is urging congressional Republicans to keep entitlement reform off the table as part of debt ceiling negotiations.

“Under no circumstances should Republicans vote to cut a single penny from Medicare or Social Security to help pay for Joe Biden’s reckless spending spree, which is more reckless than anybody’s ever done or had in the history of our country,” Trump said Friday in a video posted to TRUTH Social. “We absolutely need to stop Biden’s out-of-control spending. The pain should be borne by Washington bureaucrats, not by hard-working American families and American seniors.”

Republicans are threatening to oppose raising the debt ceiling if the increase is not accompanied by spending cuts. As part of Kevin McCarthy’s speakership negotiations, Republicans agreed to freeze the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 budget at FY 2022 levels. While defense hawks like Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Michael McCaul of Texas are pledging to leave defense spending untouched, others, such as Texas Rep. Chip Roy, are pledging not to “touch” Medicare or Social Security.

“Cut the hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars going to corrupt foreign countries. Cut the mass releases of illegal aliens that are depleting our social safety net and destroying our country. Cut the left-wing gender programs from our military. Cut the billions being spent on climate extremism. Cut waste, fraud and abuse everywhere we can find it. And there’s plenty of it. But do not cut the benefits our seniors worked for and paid for their entire lives. Save Social Security, don’t destroy it,” Trump continued.

Social Security’s Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund is projected to become insolvent in 2033 if the program continues to pay benefits under current law, according to the Congressional Budget Office, meaning retirees will not receive full benefits. Some Republicans have acknowledged the program must be reformed in order to keep it solvent. Pennsylvania Rep. Lloyd Smucker floated means testing the universal program.

“We should ensure that we keep the promises that were made to the people who really need it, the people who are relying on it,” he told Bloomberg. “So some sort of means-testing potentially would help to ensure that we can do that.”

Social Security and Medicare combined make up more than 30% of the federal budget, and the number is set to increase as Baby Boomers continue to retire.

The U.S. Treasury on Thursday began taking extraordinary measures to avoid defaulting on the federal debt. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has estimated the government will go over the fiscal cliff at some point in June or July.

AUTHOR

MICHAEL GINSBERG

Congressional correspondent.

RELATED ARTICLES:

What Congress really needs for a debt limit deal

White House Budget Director Doubles Down: Trump’s 2021 Budget Won’t Cut ‘Social Security And Medicare’

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Boehner gives Barack a Blank Check

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US national debt clock / billboard. Picture was taken on April 19, 2008 so add approximately $1.5 billion per day to get to the current amount.

Amy Payne from The Foundry reports:

Remember all those debt limit fights? Well, apparently Congress got tired of fighting. So now they’re working toward doing away with the debt limit altogether.

In recent years, conservatives fought to get at least some spending cuts, to begin putting the budget on a path to balance—after all, raising the debt ceiling means Congress has spent too much. Cutting spending before increasing the debt limit is necessary if Congress is to exercise some control over the debt.

But not this year. No one put up a fight this time—so Congress is essentially handing President Obama a blank check for the entire year.

“With almost $17.3 trillion in national debt, failing to put a debt limit in place to protect taxpayers from even more reckless spending by Congress is beyond irresponsible,” Heritage’s Romina Boccia, the Grover M. Hermann Fellow, told The Foundry.

That’s $140,000 per household, by the way.

Watch the Foundry explain in one minute what this “blank check” means:

[youtube]http://youtu.be/BLdjCUcrBFQ[/youtube]

 

“The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the US Government cannot pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies. Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that, ‘the buck stops here.’ Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better.”– Senator Barack H. Obama, March 2006

EDITORS NOTE: The featured image was taken on April 19, 2008 by Jesper Rautell Balle. Since this photo was take the national debt has risen over $6.6 trillion.

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Fractured House approves debt ceiling hike; ‘clean’ bill drops all GOP demands

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