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Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield), newly elected Speaker of the House, holds a town hall meeting at the Fox Theater in downtown on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023 in Bakersfield, CA.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Can a Discharge Petition Save Economy From GOP Hostage-Taking Over Debt Ceiling?
The great debt limit game of chicken has begun. How do we stop it.
Jan 21, 2023
We knew this was coming.
Last year, there were signals that Congress would have to deal with increasing the debt limit ceiling sometime in the second half of 2023. “Extraordinary measures” could extend that deadline closer to the end of the year.
On Thursday, much earlier than expected, we hit the debt limit ceiling and the Treasury Department began rolling out “extraordinary measures” to pay the government’s bills. According to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the “extraordinary measures” are likely to enable the government to pay its bills only until early June.
A default on our debt would trigger a worldwide financial catastrophe.
The great debt limit game of chicken has begun.
When the GOP held the White House, congressional Republicans had no problem in routinely allowing the debt ceiling to increase. Congress raised the debt ceiling 17 times for President Reagan.
When Barack Obama was President, however, Republicans took the debt ceiling hostage. They allowed it to be increased in 2011 only in return for an agreement by Obama and congressional Democrats for significant cuts in government spending.
As a result of that Republican brinkmanship, the U.S. Treasury debt was stripped of its triple-A rating by Standard & Poor’s — a rating it had held for 70 years.
Today, Republicans control the House by a very narrow margin. The extreme MAGA wing of the House Republicans drives the House Republican Caucus and has enormous influence over Speaker Kevin McCarthy whose position they greatly weakened before giving him the job.
As a result, House Republicans are threatening to block increasing the debt ceiling unless they get outlandish ransoms. Their proposals include slashing Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, and eliminating at least $130 billion in spending for the next fiscal year, including axing the defense budget by $70 billion.
It’s unlikely that House Republicans will come up with a consensus package of spending cuts to attach to a debt ceiling increase and, even if they do, the package will not be supported by President Biden and the Democrats who control the Senate. The White House has indicated President Biden will not play the role of hostage and will insist on a clean vote on a debt ceiling increase.
So how do we get out of this dangerous situation? The answer may lie with a little-known House rule — the discharge petition.
If a simple majority of House Members sign a petition to discharge a bill from the committee it is in, the bill is brought directly to the House floor for a vote.
While the discharge petition is seldom used, it has on occasion played a critical role, as it did in 2002 when the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act was brought to the House floor by a discharge petition, overcoming the refusal of Republican leaders to schedule it for a floor vote. The legislation passed the House and went on to be enacted.
It would require just five Republicans to join with 213 Democrats to bypass Speaker McCarthy and the MAGA wing and come up with their own responsible legislative package of budget changes and an increase in the debt ceiling.
The discharge petition would bring the package to the House floor where it could be passed by 218 votes, a majority of the House.
Some House Republicans have already been talking about the discharge petition as an option.
There are 18 Republicans who in 2022 won in congressional districts that were carried by President Biden in 2020. Other Republicans won extremely competitive races last year.
It could have major reelection ramifications for these Members, particularly those in Biden-won districts, if they are deemed responsible for the financial disaster that would occur if the United States defaults on its debts. This could provide a strong incentive for them to negotiate a budget/debt ceiling deal with House Democrats.
The discharge petition — which the MAGA wing could have forced McCarthy to get rid of, but failed to do so — may be the key to a responsible agreement on budget changes and a timely extension of the debt ceiling limit.
Such an agreement would allow the government to continue to pay the money it owes in the United States, including Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid payments, as well as the payments it owes around the world, and avoid a global financial catastrophe.
On Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said: “In the end, I think the important thing to remember is that America must never default on its debt. It never has and it never will.”
This is one thing that both Senator McConnell and I can agree on.
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Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Fred Wertheimer
Fred Wertheimer is the founder and president of Democracy 21, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that seeks to promote government accountability and integrity.
We knew this was coming.
Last year, there were signals that Congress would have to deal with increasing the debt limit ceiling sometime in the second half of 2023. “Extraordinary measures” could extend that deadline closer to the end of the year.
On Thursday, much earlier than expected, we hit the debt limit ceiling and the Treasury Department began rolling out “extraordinary measures” to pay the government’s bills. According to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the “extraordinary measures” are likely to enable the government to pay its bills only until early June.
A default on our debt would trigger a worldwide financial catastrophe.
The great debt limit game of chicken has begun.
When the GOP held the White House, congressional Republicans had no problem in routinely allowing the debt ceiling to increase. Congress raised the debt ceiling 17 times for President Reagan.
When Barack Obama was President, however, Republicans took the debt ceiling hostage. They allowed it to be increased in 2011 only in return for an agreement by Obama and congressional Democrats for significant cuts in government spending.
As a result of that Republican brinkmanship, the U.S. Treasury debt was stripped of its triple-A rating by Standard & Poor’s — a rating it had held for 70 years.
Today, Republicans control the House by a very narrow margin. The extreme MAGA wing of the House Republicans drives the House Republican Caucus and has enormous influence over Speaker Kevin McCarthy whose position they greatly weakened before giving him the job.
As a result, House Republicans are threatening to block increasing the debt ceiling unless they get outlandish ransoms. Their proposals include slashing Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, and eliminating at least $130 billion in spending for the next fiscal year, including axing the defense budget by $70 billion.
It’s unlikely that House Republicans will come up with a consensus package of spending cuts to attach to a debt ceiling increase and, even if they do, the package will not be supported by President Biden and the Democrats who control the Senate. The White House has indicated President Biden will not play the role of hostage and will insist on a clean vote on a debt ceiling increase.
So how do we get out of this dangerous situation? The answer may lie with a little-known House rule — the discharge petition.
If a simple majority of House Members sign a petition to discharge a bill from the committee it is in, the bill is brought directly to the House floor for a vote.
While the discharge petition is seldom used, it has on occasion played a critical role, as it did in 2002 when the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act was brought to the House floor by a discharge petition, overcoming the refusal of Republican leaders to schedule it for a floor vote. The legislation passed the House and went on to be enacted.
It would require just five Republicans to join with 213 Democrats to bypass Speaker McCarthy and the MAGA wing and come up with their own responsible legislative package of budget changes and an increase in the debt ceiling.
The discharge petition would bring the package to the House floor where it could be passed by 218 votes, a majority of the House.
Some House Republicans have already been talking about the discharge petition as an option.
There are 18 Republicans who in 2022 won in congressional districts that were carried by President Biden in 2020. Other Republicans won extremely competitive races last year.
It could have major reelection ramifications for these Members, particularly those in Biden-won districts, if they are deemed responsible for the financial disaster that would occur if the United States defaults on its debts. This could provide a strong incentive for them to negotiate a budget/debt ceiling deal with House Democrats.
The discharge petition — which the MAGA wing could have forced McCarthy to get rid of, but failed to do so — may be the key to a responsible agreement on budget changes and a timely extension of the debt ceiling limit.
Such an agreement would allow the government to continue to pay the money it owes in the United States, including Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid payments, as well as the payments it owes around the world, and avoid a global financial catastrophe.
On Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said: “In the end, I think the important thing to remember is that America must never default on its debt. It never has and it never will.”
This is one thing that both Senator McConnell and I can agree on.
Fred Wertheimer
Fred Wertheimer is the founder and president of Democracy 21, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that seeks to promote government accountability and integrity.
We knew this was coming.
Last year, there were signals that Congress would have to deal with increasing the debt limit ceiling sometime in the second half of 2023. “Extraordinary measures” could extend that deadline closer to the end of the year.
On Thursday, much earlier than expected, we hit the debt limit ceiling and the Treasury Department began rolling out “extraordinary measures” to pay the government’s bills. According to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the “extraordinary measures” are likely to enable the government to pay its bills only until early June.
A default on our debt would trigger a worldwide financial catastrophe.
The great debt limit game of chicken has begun.
When the GOP held the White House, congressional Republicans had no problem in routinely allowing the debt ceiling to increase. Congress raised the debt ceiling 17 times for President Reagan.
When Barack Obama was President, however, Republicans took the debt ceiling hostage. They allowed it to be increased in 2011 only in return for an agreement by Obama and congressional Democrats for significant cuts in government spending.
As a result of that Republican brinkmanship, the U.S. Treasury debt was stripped of its triple-A rating by Standard & Poor’s — a rating it had held for 70 years.
Today, Republicans control the House by a very narrow margin. The extreme MAGA wing of the House Republicans drives the House Republican Caucus and has enormous influence over Speaker Kevin McCarthy whose position they greatly weakened before giving him the job.
As a result, House Republicans are threatening to block increasing the debt ceiling unless they get outlandish ransoms. Their proposals include slashing Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, and eliminating at least $130 billion in spending for the next fiscal year, including axing the defense budget by $70 billion.
It’s unlikely that House Republicans will come up with a consensus package of spending cuts to attach to a debt ceiling increase and, even if they do, the package will not be supported by President Biden and the Democrats who control the Senate. The White House has indicated President Biden will not play the role of hostage and will insist on a clean vote on a debt ceiling increase.
So how do we get out of this dangerous situation? The answer may lie with a little-known House rule — the discharge petition.
If a simple majority of House Members sign a petition to discharge a bill from the committee it is in, the bill is brought directly to the House floor for a vote.
While the discharge petition is seldom used, it has on occasion played a critical role, as it did in 2002 when the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act was brought to the House floor by a discharge petition, overcoming the refusal of Republican leaders to schedule it for a floor vote. The legislation passed the House and went on to be enacted.
It would require just five Republicans to join with 213 Democrats to bypass Speaker McCarthy and the MAGA wing and come up with their own responsible legislative package of budget changes and an increase in the debt ceiling.
The discharge petition would bring the package to the House floor where it could be passed by 218 votes, a majority of the House.
Some House Republicans have already been talking about the discharge petition as an option.
There are 18 Republicans who in 2022 won in congressional districts that were carried by President Biden in 2020. Other Republicans won extremely competitive races last year.
It could have major reelection ramifications for these Members, particularly those in Biden-won districts, if they are deemed responsible for the financial disaster that would occur if the United States defaults on its debts. This could provide a strong incentive for them to negotiate a budget/debt ceiling deal with House Democrats.
The discharge petition — which the MAGA wing could have forced McCarthy to get rid of, but failed to do so — may be the key to a responsible agreement on budget changes and a timely extension of the debt ceiling limit.
Such an agreement would allow the government to continue to pay the money it owes in the United States, including Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid payments, as well as the payments it owes around the world, and avoid a global financial catastrophe.
On Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said: “In the end, I think the important thing to remember is that America must never default on its debt. It never has and it never will.”
This is one thing that both Senator McConnell and I can agree on.
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