What will happen if Congress doesn't raise the federal debt limit?
When power in Washington is split between Democrats and Republicans, chances are good that lawmakers will reach an impasse over what once was a routine part of the budget process: raising the federal debt limit. We've seen it in 1985, 1995 (a standoff that lasted into 1996), 2002, 2003, 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2015, and it's happening again this year.
"Republicans are united in opposition to raising the debt ceiling," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Sept. 14, reiterating a pledge that 46 members of his caucus made in August. He emphasized that Republicans think the debt ceiling should be raised, but they don't want to be the ones to do it — it's the Democrats' responsibility, McConnell said, because they were the ones trying to vastly increase federal spending.
Democrats counter that the debt limit would need to be raised even if no new spending were approved. "Increasing or suspending the debt limit does not increase government spending, nor does it authorize spending for future budget proposals; it simply allows Treasury to pay for previously enacted expenditures," Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen wrote in a July 23 letter to congressional leaders. "The current level of debt reflects the cumulative effect of all prior spending and tax decisions, which have been made by administrations and Congresses of both parties over time."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) teed up a fight Monday when they announced that a proposal to suspend the debt limit through December 2022 would be included in a must-pass bill to fund government agencies for three months. Democrats have the votes to pass that bill in the House, but Republicans could block it in the Senate with a filibuster — which would risk a partial government shutdown.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/happen-congress-doesnt-raise-federal-235959855.html
‘Shame on the Republican leader’: Schumer blasts McConnell’s debt limit position
Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer used strikingly personal language on the Senate floor on Monday to upbraid Mitch McConnell for uniting the Republican caucus against raising the nation’s borrowing limit.
“He always comes up with some sophistry as to why it’s different, but everyone knows it’s not different,” Schumer said, referring to the Kentucky Republican. “Shame, shame on the leader, the Republican leader.”
Democrats are seeking to suspend the debt limit through December 2022 to account for the money the government spent during the pandemic, including the $900 billion Covid-19 stimulus package that was passed under President Donald Trump.
“Anyone who says this is Democratic debt is not talking fact,” Schumer argued, noting considerable GOP support for that package.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/shame-republican-leader-schumer-blasts-211902383.html
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