Debt Ceiling

Here’s What Happens If Congress Fails to Raise the Debt Ceiling

By Michael Rainey

What happens if Congress fails to raise the debt limit? A new report from the Bipartisan Policy Center examines that question in detail, and the results aren’t pretty. Here are some highlights — or...
Why Raising the Debt Ceiling Won’t Be a Problem This Year

By Rob Garver

The final wall of resistance to a “clean” increase of the federal debt ceiling, necessary to avoid a potentially catastrophic government default later this year, appears to have fallen, with White...
Top GOP Conservative: We Won’t Play Around With the Debt Ceiling

By Rob Garver

When it comes to the perennial fight to raise the federal debt ceiling, it’s usually best to assume that the struggle to give the Treasury Department clearance to actually pay the debts that the...
Raise the Debt Ceiling Now, or Face Another Post-Summer Crisis: Meadows

By Eric Pianin

Rep. Mark Meadows, R-NC, one of the most influential conservatives in the House, said Monday he favors quick action this summer to raise the debt ceiling, taking a stand on an issue that is...
Here’s a Solution for the Annual Debt Ceiling Crisis: Get Rid of It

By Eric Pianin

With another debt ceiling crisis looming that threatens a first-ever default by the Treasury and another government shutdown, there is a growing school of thought in the Senate that lawmakers should...

The National Debt Is a Bigger Problem Than You Think

By Lawrence Goodman

The U.S. debt situation is worse than commonly realized. Unaddressed, the surge in Treasury borrowing over the last 10 years represents an accident in the offing.
Mulvaney’s Debt Ceiling Ploy Protects Treasurys, Not Social Security Checks

By Rob Garver

The Trump administration appears to be considering a plan to pay some government debts but not others if the debt ceiling isn’t raised on time. It’s a plan economists and financial markets experts...
White House’s Debt Ceiling Battle Could Trigger a Shutdown — and a Recession

By Eric Pianin

At a time when worldwide confidence in the U.S. has already been badly shaken by President Trump’s go-it-alone, “America First” approach to trade, NATO and climate change, a White House riven by...
New Debt Ceiling Deadline Could Ruin Lawmakers' Summer Vacations

By Rob Garver

The federal debt limit, previously thought to be an issue that could be postponed to the fall, may need to be raised prior to the August recess, complicating the lives of top Republicans in Congress.
The Great Risk Shift Is Back

By Mark Thoma

The vote in the House of Representatives to dismantle Obamacare was not the only attempt to undo key legislation from the Obama years that occurred last Thursday.

'Super Panel' Members Have Many Ties to Lobbyists

By Dan Eggen, The Washington Post

Like many federal contractors, General Electric has a lot riding on the work of a new congressional “supercommittee,” which will help decide whether to impose massive cuts in defense and health-care...
Does the National Debt Really Matter?

By Yuval Rosenberg

Financial historian John Steele Gordon says our current battle over America’s indebtedness is just the latest in a long line of such fiscal fights.
How Irene Was Like the Debt-Ceiling Debacle

By Jacqueline Leo

With Hurricane Irene on the way, I went through the list of options: Should I spend a barrel of money and board up the windows of my house, assume we’d lose power and buy a generator, or leave the...
Polls Show Negative Impact of Debt Debate

By Dan Balz, The Washington Post

According to a new analysis by one of the country’s leading pollsters, the standoff on debt dealt a devastating body blow to public confidence in the economy and government that has powerful...
GOP May Renege on Norquist’s No-Taxes Pledge

By Eric Schurenberg, The Fiscal Times

Could the Republican no-tax pledge have topped out? At first glance, the answer is clearly no. As the debt ceiling debate made clear, many pledgers would rather trigger a catastrophic default than...

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