Just days before a critical debt ceiling deadline, several House Democrats want to take Congress out of the process and allow for automatic increases in the government’s ability to borrow money.
Rep. Mike Honda, D-Calif., is the lead sponsor of legislation that he said would take “the fate of America’s credit and world standing out of the partisanship of Congress.”
“We know how devastating a default would be for our economy and standing in the world economy,” Honda said in statement. “We need to continue to boost our economy and pass a lasting solution instead of another short-term so-called ‘fix.'”
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Honda’s measure is likely to be highly controversial with many congressional Republicans, many of whom are committed to a fully balanced budget, and who are already reticent to approve any debt ceiling raise as it is.
But Republicans are struggling to come up with a way to deal with the debt ceiling, which the government will hit on Nov. 3. Past GOP-led Congresses have insisted on spending cuts as a condition of raising the debt ceiling, but Congress next week seems more likely to push for a “clean” hike in the debt ceiling, as there has been little specific talk about forcing spending cuts.
Honda noted that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. proposed an automatic debt ceiling hike 2011 when he was looking for a way around the problem as minority leader.
Under Honda’s proposed Pay Our Bills Act, automatic debt ceiling increases could only be halted by a two-thirds vote of Congress.
