East Montgomery Times

WASHINGTON, D.C. – After Republicans manufactured another near catastrophic default crisis, House Budget Committee Ranking Member Brendan F. Boyle (D-PA) and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced the Debt Ceiling Reform Act, legislation to permanently end the weaponization of the debt ceiling while protecting Congress’s oversight responsibilities. Boyle was joined by 47 original cosponsors in the House.  

The Debt Ceiling Reform Act authorizes Treasury to continue paying the nation’s bills absent a disapproval resolution from Congress. The effect of this legislation would be similar to the mechanism that Senator Mitch McConnell proposed to resolve the 2011 impasse. Congress would retain its oversight powers and has the option to halt payments if, within 30 days, both chambers pass a veto-proof resolution of disapproval. 

“A definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different result. If we do not significantly change the debt ceiling process, Republicans will keep taking our economy hostage and provoking default,” said Boyle. “The Debt Ceiling Reform Act will end Republicans’ perennial weaponization of the debt ceiling once and for all by making it harder for extremists to take the debt ceiling hostage. This legislation is a sensible response to Republicans’ repeated hostage-taking, manufactured default crises, and toxic brinkmanship. I am proud to join Senator Durbin in introducing this much needed legislation to permanently take default off the table and provide the economic stability the American people deserve from their government.” 

“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 said. “For the sake of the American people and for the good of our economy, we need legislation to reform the way we address the debt ceiling. The Debt Ceiling Reform Act is responsible, commonsense legislation that will give the Treasury the authority to raise the debt ceiling. If Republicans are truly concerned about the economic well-being of America, they will work with us on this sensible solution.” 

The current debt ceiling process is broken and unsustainable. The Debt Ceiling Reform Act will not only put a stop to Republican manufactured default crises, but it will also restore the debt ceiling mechanism back to the original congressional intention, which was to make it easier for Treasury to pay the nation's bills. 

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THE CATASTROPHIC COST OF REPUBLICAN BRINKMANSHIP AND DEFAULT:  

Industry leaders and economic experts across the ideological spectrum have repeatedly warned Congress for years of the painful costs of default and brinkmanship. During the 2011 debt ceiling negotiations, in which a compromise was struck only two days before Treasury's borrowing authority would be exhausted, the U.S. Government Accountability Office found the delays in raising the debt limit led to an increase in Treasury's borrowing costs of about $1.3 billion in FY 2011 and billions more over the decade. The impact of Republicans’ recent brinkmanship is not yet known, but their reckless hostage-taking has already landed the United States on a prominent credit agency’s “negative” watch list and the threat of another painful credit downgrade looms. 

If Republicans had forced the U.S. to default, it would have delayed seniors’ Social Security checks, held up Medicare payments for hospitals and doctors, roiled domestic and international financial markets, and sent everyday borrowing costs skyrocketing. According to Moody's Analytics, a prolonged breach of the debt ceiling would spark a recession, kill 7 million jobs, spike the unemployment rate to almost 9 percent, erase trillions in household wealth and retirement savings, shrink the U.S. economy by more than 4 percent, and wound our economy for years to come. This is in addition to the chaos it would inflict on the global economy, threatening the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency, and creating an opening for competitors like Russia and China. Absent reform, Republicans will continue to manufacture default crises and knowingly risk millions of American jobs and the stability of the U.S. and global economies. 

Original Source can be found here.