WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson has a simple solution for people upset with the summer standoff over the nation’s borrowing limit: Kill the debt ceiling.
The DeKalb Democrat joined Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., on Wednesday to introduce a two-page bill to eliminate the congressionally imposed borrowing cap. It’s nothing more than a message, as Johnson admitted at a news conference, “I don’t expect the House Republicans to allow the bill to see the light of day.”
According to the Congressional Research Service, the debt limit was instituted in 1917 to allow the Treasury to borrow long-term to finance the United States’ entry into World War I. Two years later, the ceiling was raised to $43.5 billion, which would buy you less than a month of Social Security checks now.
Congress must approve the spending that leads to reaching the debt cap, so essentially it’s another chance to debate the issue. This year as the national debt careened toward $14.3 trillion, Republicans saw it as a chance to force long-term budgetary changes.
On Wednesday, the Republican-run House weighed in against raising the debt ceiling by $500 billion, but the vote was really just a political show.
Legislation that President Barack Obama signed last month raised the debt limit by $400 billion immediately. A second increase, this time by $500 billion, was to take effect this month unless both the House and Senate voted to block it.
Last week senators defeated efforts to stop the $500 billion increase. So even though the House went on record Wednesday with a 232-186 vote against the second increase, the action had no real consequence.
GOP Rep. Tom Reed of New York said Republicans still wanted to make the point that they’re serious about the issue. Democrats said it was a waste of time.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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