Civic Register
| 10.8.21

McConnell Warns Biden That Republicans Won't Help Democrats Raise the Debt Limit Again
Should Democrats use reconciliation to pass a long-term debt limit hike without Republican support?
What’s the story?
- Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) sent a letter to President Joe Biden on Friday to inform him that Senate Republicans will not provide Democrats with votes to raise the debt limit again.
- McConnell’s warning comes after 11 GOP senators helped Democrats Thursday night by not filibustering a short-term debt limit extension through December 3rd in a 61-38 vote on a cloture motion (aka the legislative filibuster). That cleared the way for it to pass the Senate on a 50-38 vote and head to the House, which will vote on the bill Tuesday to send it to the president’s desk and avoid a potential default on October 18th.
- McConnell wrote to tell Biden that Republicans “will not provide such assistance again if your all-Democrat government drifts into another avoidable crisis” and added that the short-term extension’s enactment will give Democrats time to use the budget reconciliation process to pass a long-term debt limit hike along party-lines:
“Your lieutenants on Capitol Hill now have the time they claimed they lacked to address the debt ceiling through standalone reconciliation, and all the tools to do it. They cannot invent another crisis and ask for my help.”
- McConnell and other Republicans have signaled since the summer that they won’t provide votes for raising the debt limit while Democrats are pursuing a partisan spending plan along party-lines in the budget reconciliation process. Budget reconciliation can also be used to raise the debt limit with a simple majority in the Senate with a bill that can advance independently from the spending bill.
- Democrats have resisted using budget reconciliation, at least for now, because it would require them to raise the debt limit to a specific number. They would prefer to suspend the debt limit through mid-December 2022 and allow the federal government to accumulate debt without limit through that date. Further, reconciliation would give GOP senators opportunities to offer politically painful debt-related amendments in a pair of “vote-a-ramas.”
- McConnell’s letter also took issue with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for giving a speech bashing Republicans after passage of the debt limit extension, which McConnell called “a rant that was so partisan, angry, and coercive that even Democratic Senators were visibly embarrassed by and for him.” The GOP leader said Schumer’s speech “poisoned the well even further” and “alienated Republican members who helped facilitate this short-term patch.”
- In his speech, Schumer accused Republicans of “brinksmanship” and “obstruction” after passage of the debt limit extension bill, and said that Democrats solved “this Republican-manufactured crisis” and “pulled our country back from the cliff’s edge that Republicans tried to push us over.” Schumer added:
"America's Full Faith and Credit must never be used as a political bargaining chip. I hope my Republican colleagues relent from trying to make it one when we revisit this issue soon."
- Schumer’s speech left moderate Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), who was seated immediately behind the Democratic leader, with his head in his hands before he walked out. Manchin, who previously urged Democrats to raise the debt limit through reconciliation, called Schumer’s speech inappropriate and both sides need to “de-weaponize” the debt limit.
— Eric Revell
(Photo Credit: McConnell: Gage Skidmore via Flickr / Creative Commons | Biden: State Dept. photo via Flickr / Public Domain | Schumer: Senate Democrats via Flickr / Creative Commons)
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Republican refusal to resolve the debt limit is irresponsible. It is led by those that do not consider the interest of citizens and business. The power they have to do this revels that they as individual elected officials are not strong enough to stand up to corrupt interests and that they are violating their oath of office..
Democraps unwillingness to include the minority in negotiations means they have to go it alone.
stop counting on the Republicans theyre stalling and playing the clock out you idiots they're waiting for the Midterms and you know it an have ur hand so far up ur *** ur playing shadow puppets do something as a Texan if i don't see results i don't find it difficult to vote Republican we're very fluid at least i am
Please encourage your colleagues that this constant childishness politics that calls itself the Republican Party is starting to get very old. Those who don’t remember the free range credit card given to Trump do not deserve to control they have to repress the current spending that would actually make a change to the lives of average Americans.
Pass a balanced budget
Absolutely not. More and more what fact apparent to people. People not putting up with it..
McConnell is full of it. This is the Republicans' mess, built up over several administrations and knocked back by Democratic ones. And besides, the federal government is not like your household budget. The government can mint money to pay down the debt or use Modern Monetary Theory as an economic tool to zero out debt. This Build Back Better bill is completely paid for.
Democrats should raise the next debt limit alone if they have to and then explain that they are cleaning up the spending mess left by the Trump regime.
The republicans did nothing to pass this bill. Moscow Mitch can get over himself.
The Republicans need to take responsibility!!!! The Republicans have already spent this money, why are they now saying they will not pay it? Me, as a regular person, could not do that with my credit card bills....why should they be able to do that??? Take some responsibility for your actions and your spending of the American taxpayers money.
Republicans can’t govern, they just lie and take credit for the good economies the Dems create after fixing their messes
The Democrats should go ahead and get their legislation done by any means possible. It’s a new day and time to move forward
I am sick and tired of Congressmen standing up to say "I refuse to do my job and there is nothing you can do about it!"! I want to just say "Then you are FIRED!", and that is what I plan to say to every obstructionist Republican and obstructionist Democrat that I can vote AGAINST in the next dozen elections.
These petty games are unbelievable. They were hired to. represent all of the citizens of our country, not political parties. They had to take an oath when they were sworn in, as well as uphold the Constitution. Mr McConnell refusing to do his job, instead saying he would not vote for the democrats is absurd. It seems Me. McConnell has been in his job too long, as he can no longer uphold his oath. This is not a democrat vs republican deal. This is for the American people. It seems a good number of Congress have forgotten what they were hired to do! Either do your jobs or get out
It’s a proven fact that the gop destroys the economy and the dems have to fix it. Every damned time. Please stop negotiating with terrorists. They only try to f things up while lining their own pockets. The Reagan legacy. Dumb the people down and pick their pockets.
Look in the past to find the party not in power generally obstructing the party in power. Then look to find both flip depending how it benefits the party vs the nation. Go back to see Sen Biden voted against raising debt ceiling a number of times. Or Sen Obama state raising it was criminal but then as president it was needed. At least some of the times we compromised by raising it while showing an effort to curb spending or reduce the debt down the road. But no matter which party in office each president has left with the debt higher than when they came in - even if they had a budget surplus. Estimates never work as there is always an unforeseen crisis. The value of the dollar goes down as we keep creating more money or try other means to stimulate the economy whether by tax cuts or QE measures. Then you have the invisible tax done by inflation. Look at the value of an ounce of gold through our nation's history to see the value of our dollar go down. There is no easy solution. You could tax the rich 100% and still not balance the budget. We keep doing feel good measure more to win votes toward the next election than to truly solve problems. One might ask if this or that new spending measure would realistically have passed in the original Congress when the country really worried about debts.
You gotta do what you gotta do.
No one can ignore the growing problems with our economy and fueling inflation with wasteful government spending that will mean higher taxes is not any an option. Stop and tell States and Municipalities to stop because there are no Federal bail outs.
Republicans supported raising the debt ceiling under EVERY Republican President, then they want to grandstand and threaten the livelihood of seniors, federal workers, department of defense educators, screw up the movement of our troops. They are hypocrites and empty if compassion and ignorant of our economy. They are traitors to the American public putting their threats and politics against the good of our country. They are TRAITORS to our country and to their constituents. VOTE these Republican self serving pieces out.
The people in office took an oath to the Constitution of the United States. Not to the Republican or the Democratic parties. It’s “We The People” that should be their concern.