The nation faces financial calamity. Republicans will be to blame.
The White House on Thursday instructed federal agencies to prepare for an imminent government shutdown, in case Congress fails to pass a stopgap funding bill by Sept. 30. Government shutdowns are expensive and disruptive, and they deservedly sully the nations image and sense of self-respect. But at this point a lapse in government services should be the least of Americans worries. The nation faces an epochal financial disaster if Congress fails to raise the debt limit, forcing the country to default on its obligations and inviting a global financial panic.
If that happens, there will be no doubt about who is at fault: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and his Republican caucus, who are playing games with the full faith and credit of the United States.
Democrats joined with Republicans to suspend the debt ceiling during the Trump administration. But Mr. McConnell suddenly declares that the majority is solely responsible for performing this unattractive task, even though he pioneered the routine use of the filibuster to force any and all Senate legislation to overcome a 60-vote threshold. With only 50 votes, and Republicans unwilling to lift a finger to avoid financial calamity, Democrats only option would be to use the arcane reconciliation procedure. Senate experts believe this would be possible, but it would require a couple of weeks of complex parliamentary maneuvering and some Republican cooperation in the Senate Budget Committee. Meanwhile, the treasury is on the verge of running out of money.
Other than sticking it to Democrats, what is the point? Using reconciliation, Democrats would have to raise the debt limit by a specific dollar amount, not just suspend it for a time, as Republicans did under President Donald Trump. This would enable Republicans to run attack ads blasting Democrats for expanding the debt by some large, specific number. Never mind that raising the debt limit does not approve any new spending; it merely permits the treasury to finance the spending Congress already has okayed.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/09/25/nation-faces-financial-calamity-republicans-will-be-blame/
The Unmitigated Gall
(3,809 posts)Is to burn it all down.
Moscow Mitch is a traitor and a terrorist and deserves to
Live out his years in Guantanamo.
Stuart G
(38,421 posts)...Biden will do a great amount to stop a shut down...if it can be stopped..
....Further, Biden will totally blame who is responsible for the shut down if it happens
.....and use the media to destroy the Republicans
question everything
(47,476 posts)There are many in red states who depends on these payments. Remember givers and takers states? So we will see. I hope that Democrats in red states will declare this from every rooftops.