DURHAM, N.H. – Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Friday mentioned Democrats ought to cope with the “debt ceiling” within the upcoming lame-duck session of Congress, eradicating the specter of an financial armageddon for the remainder of President Joe Biden’s time period.
“We have to act in the course of the lame duck. We can’t let the Republicans take our financial system hostage and use it as leverage to remove Social Safety and voting rights from folks,” Warren informed HuffPost at a marketing campaign occasion for Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) in Durham, New Hampshire.
Federal regulation bars the federal government from borrowing greater than a sure sum of money, forcing lawmakers to periodically elevate or droop the “debt ceiling” to forestall a federal debt default, which may trigger a monetary disaster and financial chaos.
For the reason that authorities runs a finances deficit yearly, the overall quantity of amassed debt retains going up. The subsequent debt ceiling deadline will come someday subsequent 12 months, although the exact date is unsure as a result of incoming tax income could be unpredictable month to month.
However one factor is for certain: If Republicans retake the Home of Representatives, they’ll refuse to help a debt ceiling enhance with out extracting main coverage concessions from Democrats.
Republicans haven’t mentioned what they need, however Home Minority Chief Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has made it clear they need one thing. Some GOP lawmakers have advised they should demand cuts to Social Safety and Medicare advantages.
When Donald Trump was president, Congress raised the debt ceiling 3 times. Democrats didn’t demand concessions. However Trump has been encouraging Republicans to make use of the debt restrict as ruthlessly as doable.
A number of others within the Democratic caucus have mentioned they shouldn’t go away the debt ceiling to subsequent 12 months and let Republicans take the world financial system hostage. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) mentioned this week that coping with the debt restrict earlier than new lawmakers take workplace in January can be “a clever plan of action.”
Individually, a bunch of Home Democrats mentioned in a letter to get together leaders this week that Congress ought to move a everlasting debt ceiling resolution earlier than subsequent 12 months. One possibility can be to easily repeal the restrict; one other would give the Treasury Division unilateral authority to cope with it.
However coping with the debt restrict within the “lame duck” session of Congress would require both 10 Senate Republicans to go alongside or Democrats to make use of a time-consuming reconciliation course of, which may intervene with precedence laws similar to payments defending same-sex marriage and altering the best way Congress certifies elections. Ten keen Republicans can be onerous to seek out, and Democrats seemingly didn’t agree amongst themselves after they had the chance to make use of reconciliation final 12 months.
One other impediment: President Joe Biden, who has mentioned he opposes eliminating the debt ceiling.
“That might be irresponsible,” he mentioned final month.
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