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.

How the Presidential Candidates Would Confront $18.6 Trillion of U.S. Debt

By Eric Pianin

It has taken a while, but many of the 2016 presidential candidates have begun talking about how $18.6 trillion in long-term debt could threaten the U.S. economy, and what they would do to address it...
Greece and Puerto Rico May Force 2016 Candidates to Talk About U.S. Debt

By Eric Pianin

President Obama said at a news conference on Tuesday that the Greek debt crisis that is rattling the markets is primarily a concern for Europeans and is “not something that should prompt...
As Government Hits Debt Ceiling, Treasury Taps Federal Pensions

By Kellie Lunney, Government Executive

The Treasury Department has suspended investments into federal employees' pensions, as the government officially hit its debt ceiling of about $18.1 trillion on Monday. The law allows the government...
McConnell Vows to Avoid Another Debt Ceiling Crisis

By Eric Pianin

With the fate of the federal debt ceiling once again in play, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Sunday renewed his vow to avert another crisis over the Treasury’s borrowing authority...
New Way to Profit from Last Year’s Government Shutdown?

By Eric Katz, Government Executive

Most federal employees are focusing their shutdown consciousness on what lies ahead. The current continuing resolution will expire Dec. 11, and Congress has yet to lay out a plan to avoid a lapse in...

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