Schumer announces they’ve reached a deal on short-term debt ceiling increase through early December

Everyone seems to agree that the US debt ceiling should be raised to pay for tax cuts and spending that the government has already approved – and to avoid the economic disaster that would likely result from a US bankruptcy. But Congress is in a knot.

There are a growing number of creative solutions being thrown around as the parties hold on to their guns and seek economic misfortune. Here is a look at the options from completely insane to very likely:

Non-partisan agreement. Ha! I list this as the most imaginative, incredible, and least likely way of paying the nation’s debts because that is the partisan space we are in right now. A bipartisan agreement is how Capitol Hill should work. But Capitol Hill isn’t working right now. The Republicans could just allow the Democrats to vote or vote. A couple of Republicans might even join in. That seems very unlikely as, despite the economic risk, the party has chosen to focus on this moment to make its political statement. It’s a little more complicated, and Democrats could certainly try to push through a simple proposal to raise the debt ceiling. But all are very buried in their positions.

1 trillion dollar coin. It’s a bit of simple elegance and a lot of crazy genius. President Joe Biden doesn’t really need Congress to mint a $ 1 trillion commemorative coin normally minted for collectors, but in this case he suggested it to allow the government to pay obligations and paychecks. Make the coin platinum. Leave Harriet Tubman aside, since her appearance on the $ 20 bill has been delayed for so long. The important thing is that Biden recognizes it as $ 1 trillion, pays it in, and voila, the debt ceiling problem is resolved for the time being. There would certainly be legal challenges. The biggest obstacle is that the White House rejected the idea. Let’s see what Biden says whether the US is actually facing a default. Read Chris Isidore’s report.

One-time suspension of the filibuster. The Republicans have pushed the Democrats into a procedural corner. You have promised to halt attempts to raise the debt ceiling by requiring 60 votes to narrow the debate. One idea is to put the filibuster aside by changing the Senate rules for that one vote. It would allow Democrats to end the obstruction of the GOP in order to raise the debt ceiling themselves.

Biden, who served as a senator for decades and didn’t want to get rid of the filibuster, said a one-time suspension was “a real possibility”.

What makes it unlikely is that there are a number of Democrats like Senator Joe Manchin from West Virginia and Senator Kyrsten Sinema from Arizona speaking out against an end to the filibuster. It is not clear where they stand on this unique idea of ​​saving the economy. The truth is that once someone quits the filibuster for one thing, it will take a short while to be gone for everything. From that perspective, the filibuster has been on loan since the Democrats stopped using it for executive nominations and the Republicans pelted it with nuclear weapons for Supreme Court nominations.

Use the 14th amendment. This is comparable to the $ 1 trillion coin, but without the cheek of a commemorative coin and with the weight of a reinterpretation of the constitution behind it. It’s a sweeping view of executive power that Republicans would promote in a Republican President, but will challenge if Biden does.

Here’s what the 14th Amendment on Debt in Section 4 says:

The validity of the United States’ legal public debt, including those incurred in paying pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, must not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any state may assume or pay any debts or obligations incurred in support of an insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or claims to the loss or liberation of a slave; but all of these debts, obligations and claims are illegal and void.

The debt we’re talking about is already legally approved in the form of tax cuts and spending bills, right? Previously, Congress had been asked to raise the debt ceiling with laws. So that would be a complete reinterpretation. The courts would no doubt be asked to weigh up. But not until Biden issues a debt suspension order. The closer we get to October 17th, the more attractive this becomes.

Budget comparison. This is the most talked about path, so it could be the most likely. That is not what the Democrats want, and although they are in the majority, McConnell has pushed for reconciliation. As long as it holds the Republicans together, this path is an advantage.