To prevent government shutdown, Democrats are attempting to raise the debt ceiling, but it doesn’t come without protest from Republicans.
In the United States, the Democrats are seeking to combine a short-term spending bill with the suspension of the debt limit.
This follows weeks of debate over how leaders should respond and ultimately prevent a government shutdown.
In a joint statement, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate leader Chuck Schumer said they will suspend the debt limit until the end of 2022, as Pelosi dares Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to ditch the package.
“The American people expect our Republican colleagues to live up to their responsibilities and make good on the debts they proudly helped incur in the December 2020 ‘908’ COVID package that helped American families and small businesses reeling from the COVID crisis.”
Republicans adamant they will not contribute
In protest, McConnel remains certain that the Republicans will not side with the Democrats on the decision to increase the debt limit.
“The country must never default, the debt ceiling will need to be raised. But who does that depends on who the American people elect.”
Senate Minority leader mitch McConnel says.
Schumer says it is shameful that Republicans are even considering blocking the debt ceiling raise.
The reasoning behind the move
Democrats are reassuring that their decision to raise the debt limit does not authorise or allocate new federal spending.
Rather, their decision comes in a bid to borrow extra funding which will be used to cover pre-existing expenditures already approved by Congress.
This includes the bipartisan emergency COVID-relief legislation from December and payments to Social Security recipients and veterans.
Despite this, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is warning that under the current circumstances, the department will reach its borrowing capacity during October, with the results potentially devastating for the US economy.
“We would emerge from this crisis a permanently weaker nation,” Yellen wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed published over the weekend.
