THEN-SEN. JOE BIDEN (D-DE), 2006: “The tsunami of debt created by the policies of this administration has to go somewhere. … But as the rest of the world copes with the waves of U.S. debt, we are now all in the same leaky boat. There is just so much of our debt other nations want to hold. The more of it they accumulate, the closer we are to the day when they will not want any more. When that happens, slowly or rapidly, our interest rates will go up, the value of their U.S. bonds will drop, and we will all have big problems. We need both more awareness, and more understanding, of this fundamental threat to our economic well being and the global economy. But the roots of that threat lie in the disastrous policies of this administration. Because this massive accumulation of debt was predicted, because it was foreseeable, because it was unnecessary, because it was the result of willful and reckless disregard for the warnings that were given and for the fundamentals of economic management, I am voting against the debt limit increase. In the 5 years he has been in office, President Bush has added more to our foreign debt that the 42 Presidents before him. … But he refused to take responsibility for his policies. He refused to admit that a changed world demanded a change of course. His refusal has pushed us deeper and deeper into the hole. … My vote against the debt limit increase cannot change the fact that we have incurred this debt already, and will no doubt incur more. It is a statement that I refuse to be associated with the policies that brought us to this point.” (Sen. Biden, Congressional Record, S2239-2240, 3/16/2006)
BIDEN, 2004: “I was not able to participate in today’s debate and vote on the extension of the national debt limit. I was attending the funeral of a great civil rights leader in Delaware, Jane E. Mitchell. Had I been here to vote, Mr. President, I would have cast a symbolic vote against an extension of the debt limit. Today’s fiscal mess, the transformation of historic surpluses into record deficits, is not an accident. It is the inevitable outcome of policies that consistently ignored evidence and experience. When we launched out on a course of tax cutting, with expanding domestic and international obligations and responsibilities, many of us in Congress argued that we could not afford to do everything, that we needed a fiscal policy that matched our revenues with our expenditures. … We are here today because that advice was ignored, those hard choices were ducked, and the bill for our decisions will be sent to our children and grandchildren, in the form of the additional debt we will authorize today. It did not have to be this way, Mr. President. In the next Congress, the threat of massive deficits, which have made us increasingly dependent of foreign lenders to stay afloat, will still be with us. My symbolic vote against raising the debt limit would have been a protest of the policies that have brought us to this point, and a demand that we change course.” (Sen. Biden, Congressional Record, S11418, 11/17/2004)
The above notes are from the Congressional Record via Senate Minority Leaders Mitch McConnell’s Website.
Key Points
- Nearly Every Democrat, Including President Biden and Senator Schumer, Voted Multiple Times Against Raising The Debt Ceiling When President Bush Was In The White House And Republicans Controlled The Senate
- In 2006, every Democrat voted against raising the debt limit.
- In 2004, all but two Democrats voted against raising the debt limit.
- In 2003, all but three Senate Democrats voted against raising the debt limit.
Clean Debt Ceiling Raise
After voting 10 times as a senator against raising the debt limit under GOP presidents, he’s now saying it’s “mind boggling” to risk defaulting on obligations by failing to increase the debt ceiling. In 2011, Vice President Biden championed compromise and criticized any “my way or no way” approach. And he’s not the only Democrat suffering whiplash: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also voted against raising the debt limit three times under George W. Bush and now demands a clean debt ceiling increase with no negotiations on spending cuts.
The above paragraph by Karl Rove.
Now we are told that the Senate must raise the debt ceiling with no strings attached.
Both parties play this game, and every time I point out the hypocrisies.
Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy finalized his position on Wednesday with a proposed Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023.
The centerpiece of the bill, which has been dubbed the “Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023,” are caps of government spending with a proposal to return discretionary spending to FY2022 levels and then impose a 1% increase limit on government spending after that.
The plan also include provisions to claw back unspent money from the flurry of COVID-19 relief bills passed in recent years that are projected to return additional billions of dollars to government coffers.
The bill got one early positive review Wednesday afternoon when Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said in a statement that the “bill is not sufficient to bring our debt to manageable levels, but is a realistic and extremely welcome first step.”
The bill also seeks to reverse some of the central accomplishments of the Biden administration’s early years in office, including large chunks of the Inflation Reduction Act — perhaps the president’s most cherished accomplishment.
The bill seeks to impose controversial new work requirements on low-income Americans who participate in federal programs like food stamps and Medicaid. These benefits would continue, but only in exchange for a requirement that these recipients work longer hours.
“Now that we’ve introduced a clear plan for a responsible debt limit increase, they have no more excuse and refuse to negotiate,” he said Wednesday.
The House needs to pass something, anything, along those lines. Then the ball will be in Senate Democrats’ court.
McCarthy did the smart thing, asking for more than he can possibly get, leaving plenty of room for compromise.
Will the Debt Ceiling Cause a Fiscal Crisis or Chaos? Two Competing Views
For discussion of the likely winners and losers in yet another debt ceiling fight, please see Will the Debt Ceiling Cause a Fiscal Crisis or Chaos? Two Competing Views
This post originated at MishTalk.Com
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