Democrats pushing for debt limit overhaul bill: Report
Conrad Hoyt
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House and Senate Democrats are reportedly introducing legislation Friday to overhaul the debt ceiling process in response to the default scare, where lawmakers came extremely close to careening the economy into an unprecedented and dangerous situation.
The Debt Ceiling Reform Act is sponsored by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), the No. 2 Senate Democrat, and Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA), the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, according to the Wall Street Journal, which adds that Democrats are hoping to capitalize on the discord and dysfunction seen in Congress over the past few months due to debt ceiling disagreements.
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“After a near catastrophic default thanks to political games by our Republican colleagues, it’s time to put the debt ceiling in the hands of the Treasury Secretary,” Durbin told the paper. “We need legislation to reform the way we address the debt ceiling.”
The bill would reportedly allow the Treasury Department to continue paying bills for the country’s existing commitments, and to stop this, Congress would have 30 days to pass a veto-proof joint disapproval resolution, where a two-thirds vote in the House and Senate would be needed.
Even after the Fiscal Responsibility Act passed both chambers with bipartisan support and was signed into law by President Joe Biden, the debt ceiling remains a contentious topic on Capitol Hill.
Republicans, especially those on the far-right such as in the Freedom Caucus, want to reduce government spending more than the bill has enacted. Democrats, especially those on the far-left such as the majority of members in “The Squad,” on the other hand, do not want to see spending cuts toward social programs.
Many lawmakers, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), were also incensed at the legislation not providing a hike in defense spending, seeing it as a necessity with China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific and across the globe. Republican senators are hoping to eventually amend the bill to provide for more spending for the Pentagon.
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The dissonance present on Capitol Hill is representative of the polarity seen across the nation, but perhaps nowhere as clear as when it concerns the economy. Republicans are unlikely to take kindly to the measure to pass new debt ceiling-related legislation by Democrats.