Should Congress Increase the National Debt Ceiling?

Congress will soon have to decide whether or not to raise the debt ceiling

By U.S. News Staff

March 25, 2011 RSS Feed Print

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One of the pressing spending and budgetary issues that Congress will have to deal with in coming weeks is whether to raise the debt ceiling. Advocates say it is necessary to maintain national creditworthiness. Opponents say it abets fiscally irresponsible policies.
Edited by Robert Schlesinger

Yes

William Gale
Senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and codirector of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center

The debt limit is the maximum amount of debt the federal government can legally issue at a point in time. The current limit will be reached in the next few months, prompting discussion over whether Congress should raise the limit. As with so many deliberations in Washington, though, the popular...

No

Michael Needham
CEO of Heritage Action for America, an activist group associated with the Heritage Foundation

Our nation’s government is built upon a system of checks and balances. Fiscally, it also has alarm bells that go off when our spending is out of control. The debt limit is the loudest such alarm bell. Since the Democrats recaptured Congress in 2006, our debt ceiling has been increased six times...

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That Congress must raise the debt ceiling to ensure that the federal government meets its debt obligations isn't just a fiduciary responsibility -- it's a constitutional mandate.
The federal government is constitutionally prohibited from defaulting on its debts. Section 4 of the Fourteenth Amendment says quite explicitly that "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."
Furthermore, Article VI, Section 1 of the Constitution also states explicitly that "All debts contracted and engagements entered into before the adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution as under the [previous Articles of] Confederation."
It is, therefore, unconstitutional for Congress to cause the federal government to default on its debt obligations by refusing to raise the debt ceiling. That's why President Obama has vowed to refuse to negotiate with Congress on it.
The Constitution is "the Supreme Law of the Land [Article VI, Section 2]." The Senators and Representatives in Congress are legally bound by their oath of office to support -- and, by extension, obey -- the Constitution.
The Republicans in Congress can insist all they want about imposing deep spending cuts in exchange for raising the debt ceiling. But they would be committing an impeachable -- and perhaps even criminally prosecutable -- offense if they cause the federal government to default.

Skeeter Sanders of VT 3:26PM January 04, 2013

I tried to answer this once so shall try once more.
The Debt ceiling was raised 10 times during the Bush II, two terms. Where were the Rep. then??? Well, Boehner and Mitch McConnell were rubber stamping, so were our Tx. repr. Kay Bailey H., that other Sen. from Tx. and Neugebaue. All vowing that they were fiscal conservatives, my foot.
The Debt Ceiling was raised in June 2002, May 2003, Nov. 2004 (just after getting re-elected), march 2006, Sept. 2007, July 2008, Oct. 2008, Feb. 2009, April 2009 and Dec. 2009. Obama administration had to raise it immediately after taking office in Jan. 20th 2010, in Feb. 2010 to $11.3, he certainly didn't do that in the two weeks he was in office.
Republicans said "a little debt was good for the economy" Bush II's own words.
My solution would be to close 50% of the bases we have globally, we're just supporting those economies and getting no benefit.
Decrease Congressional salaries by 10% at least maybe even 25%, for total incompetence, might as well make it 50% because they haven't worked but half the time on the people's business and the rest of the time their lining their pockets and the lobbyist, and cut their retirement package which they voted for themselves. They get retirement at full salary after 10 yrs.
Hit the Wall street robber barons with an elimination of their exorbitant retirement golden fleeces packages.
End the two wars immediately, one we should have never been in in the first place, based on purposeful lies.
Where are our statesmen???? Back in the 1880s, the rich tycoons bailed out the govt.
How about each of them contributing a billion.
Cut Defense spending and adopt a balanced budget amendment with taxes back to the Clinton yrs. pay-as-you-go doctrine.
Can't spend more than you take in and pay-as-you-go the way most family budgets work.
That will do for a start. I was on a real roll when I answered the first time but this will be good for a start.

Jean Hayworth of TX 4:38PM July 25, 2011

"Paul O'Neill, Bush's Secretary of the Treasury, said that those opposed to raising the debt ceiling are terrorists, akin to al-Qaeda."
Thanks for the link. The irony is astounding, given that O'Neill is as big a deficit terrorist as Gale (google Gokhale+Smetters+sustainability).
http://ssrn.com/abstract=1722986

Art of PA 5:36PM June 21, 2011

Should Congress Increase the National Debt Ceiling?

Congress will soon have to decide whether or not to raise the debt ceiling

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Should Congress Increase the Debt Ceiling?

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