"House Democrats Move to Force a Debt-Limit Increase as Default Date Looms"

[Ted King]

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/02/us/po...ition.html
(pageview in Firefox works)

With a possible default now projected as soon as June 1, Democrats on Tuesday began taking steps to deploy the secret weapon they have been holding in reserve. They started the process of trying to force a debt-limit increase bill to the floor through a so-called discharge petition that could bypass Republican leaders who have refused to raise the ceiling unless President Biden agrees to spending cuts and policy changes.

“House Democrats are working to make sure we have all options at our disposal to avoid a default,” Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, wrote in a letter he sent to colleagues on Tuesday. “The filing of a debt ceiling measure to be brought up on the discharge calendar preserves an important option. It is now time for MAGA Republicans to act in a bipartisan manner to pay America’s bills without extreme conditions.”

An emergency rule Democrats introduced on Tuesday, during a pro forma session held while the House is in recess, would start the clock on a process that would allow them to begin collecting signatures as soon as May 16 on such a petition, which can force action on a bill if a majority of members sign on. The open-ended rule would provide a vehicle to bring Mr. DeSaulnier’s bill to the floor and amend it with a Democratic proposal — which has yet to be written — to resolve the debt limit crisis.

The strategy is no silver bullet, and Democrats concede it is a long shot. Gathering enough signatures to force a bill to the floor would take at least five Republicans willing to cross party lines if all Democrats signed on, a threshold that Democrats concede will be difficult to reach. They have yet to settle on the debt ceiling proposal itself, and for the strategy to succeed, Democrats would likely need to negotiate with a handful of mainstream Republicans to settle on a measure they could accept.

A handful of hard-right Republicans explicitly warned their colleagues on Tuesday not to go down that path. “House Republicans: don’t defect!” Senator Mike Lee of Utah wrote on Twitter.

Still, Democrats argue that the prospect of a successful effort could force House Republicans into a more acceptable deal. And Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen’s announcement on Monday that a potential default was only weeks away spurred Democratic leaders to act.

[Mr645]

Biden wants $2 trillion in spending, Republicans want much less.

Personally I lean toward the Republicans, the spending has to stop.

To get this to pass, Biden has to lobby/bribe 5 Republicans

[SKYLANE]

Lawrence O'Donnell spent time talking about this tonight on MSNBC. If interested, may find it on YouTube or the MSNBC website.

[Ca Bob]

The Republicans can refuse to pass new spending bills if they choose, but they should not damage the nation and the world with this -- by now redundant and childish -- stunt.

[Speedy]

Mr645 wrote:
Biden wants $2 trillion in spending, Republicans want much less.

Personally I lean toward the Republicans, the spending has to stop.

To get this to pass, Biden has to lobby/bribe 5 Republicans

Gee, it seems Congress has already passed the spending measures and the president has signed them into law. Why do Republicans always want to break the law when we have a Democratic president? Republicans don’t do this when there is a Republican president.

[Mr645]

Speedy wrote:
[quote=Mr645]
Biden wants $2 trillion in spending, Republicans want much less.

Personally I lean toward the Republicans, the spending has to stop.

To get this to pass, Biden has to lobby/bribe 5 Republicans

Gee, it seems Congress has already passed the spending measures and the president has signed them into law. Why do Republicans always want to break the law when we have a Democratic president? Republicans don’t do this when there is a Republican president.
The country is broke, $32 trillion in debt, we have to stop spending. 8% of all federal income goes toward interest on the debt. Time to tighten the belt

[Ted King]

Let's be real. The Republicans can make their demands going through the normal budget process. But they want to make these demands through the debt-limit process because it gives them more leverage than the normal budget process. More leverage as in, "we have this gun to the head of our economy and we'll pull the trigger if you don't give us what we want."

Ronald Reagan:

"Unfortunately, Congress consistently brings the government to the edge of default before facing its responsibility. This brinkmanship threatens the holders of government bonds and those who rely on Social Security and veterans benefits. Interest rates would skyrocket, instability would occur in financial markets, and the federal deficit would soar. The United States has a special responsibility to itself and the world to meet its obligations. It means we have a well-earned reputation for reliability and credibility -- two things that set us apart from much of the world."

Trump extended the debt limit three times without making any cuts.

[Speedy]

Mr645 wrote:
[quote=Speedy]
[quote=Mr645]
Biden wants $2 trillion in spending, Republicans want much less.

Personally I lean toward the Republicans, the spending has to stop.

To get this to pass, Biden has to lobby/bribe 5 Republicans

Gee, it seems Congress has already passed the spending measures and the president has signed them into law. Why do Republicans always want to break the law when we have a Democratic president? Republicans don’t do this when there is a Republican president.
The country is broke, $32 trillion in debt, we have to stop spending. 8% of all federal income goes toward interest on the debt. Time to tighten the belt
Don’t authorize the spending in the first place if you want belt tightening.

[pdq]

I’m surprised the news media doesn’t state the obvious; Repubs pull this shit every time they can, but only if there’s a Dem in the WH.

Have the Dems ever blocked a debt-limit increase as a negotiating tactic?

Dems pay our bills; Repubs always threaten to go deadbeat, which would be a real (expensive!) mess for our country.

But then, that’s a feature, not a bug, for the GOP.

[Lux Interior]

Remember the outrage from fiscal conservatives when Trump wanted to add trillions to the debt with his tax cuts?

Neither do I.

They said they would "pay for themselves."

Remember the outrage from fiscal conservatives when the tax cuts did nothing for the economy and only resulted in the redistribution of wealth upward?

Neither do I.

Maybe Mexico was supposed tp pay for the tax cuts, too.

Remember the outrage from fiscal conservatives when Mexico didn't pay for shite?

Etc.