Debt Ceiling

As he did earlier in the week, President Obama Friday urged Americans to contact members of Congress to push them to reach an bipartisan agreement to raise the nation's debt ceiling. And again, those listening appear to have heeded the call. Shortly after the president's remarks, the House phone system was nearing capacity, according to an internal alert. "Due to the high volume of external calls, House telephone circuits serving 202-225-XXXX phone numbers are near capacity resulting in outside callers occasionally getting busy signals," the alert said.

WASHINGTON - As Congress readied for a new battle over raising the debt limit, Sen. Barbara Boxer announced legislation that would prevent lawmakers from being paid if they do not increase the nation's borrowing authority. "It is an American value to pay your bills. It's also an American value to do your job," Boxer (D-Calif.) told reporters Wednesday. "If we as members of Congress refuse to pay the bills we have incurred, we should not be paid our salaries. " Boxer announced the legislation along with the lead House sponsor, Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.)

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Monday that she supported the deficit-reduction package agreed upon by congressional leaders and President Obama, calling it a “settlement of necessity” to avert a federal default. “Obviously, it's a compromise and it's hard,” she said, emerging from a meeting of Democratic senators attended by Vice President Joe Biden. Feinstein, a Democrat, said reaching an accord to keep the federal government solvent is necessary to protect a fragile economy.

It's rare that the president explicitly pledges to veto a bill -- usually, the White House says the president's advisors would "recommend" a veto -- but that's what happened Tuesday. The measure in question is HR 807, the Full Faith and Credit Act, by California Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Rocklin), which the House is expected to take up this week. The problem, from the White House's point of view, is that the measure would actually threaten the full faith and credit of the United States, which in turn would "cost American jobs, hurt businesses of all sizes and do damage to the economy.

Congressional leaders spent Monday trying to sell their respective caucuses in the House and the Senate on the benefits of the debt-ceiling and deficit-reduction agreement struck over the weekend at the White House. Here are some elements of the deal: -- If Congress approves it, the compromise would raise the government's borrowing limit in stages by at least $2.1 trillion and up to $2.4 trillion, while providing a dollar-for-dollar exchange in spending cuts. The package would resolve the issue until 2013, after the presidential election.

The Senate on Friday defeated the Republican "Cut, Cap and Balance" proposal, a move that puts the onus on President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner to present a plan soon to raise the debt ceiling or risk a potentially catastrophic default. The procedural vote to kill the measure that was approved by the Republican-controlled House on Tuesday was along party lines in the Democratic-controlled Senate. "We're going to dispose of this legislation as it needs to be, so that President Obama and the speaker can move forward on a [plan]

With the nation on the razor's edge of a government default, the last-ditch, bipartisan deal to raise the federal debt ceiling and slash the budget deficit cleared its largest hurdle Monday evening, as the Republican-controlled House easily passed the legislation by a 269-161 tally. The Senate will vote at noon Tuesday. If it passes, the legislation would then go to President Obama's desk for signature and to avert a default, which the White House has maintained could have done catastrophic damage to the flagging economy.

WASHINGTON -- Ready for another debt-ceiling standoff in Congress? House Speaker John A. Boehner said Tuesday he will insist on spending cuts in exchange for a vote in Congress to raise the nation's debt limit, forewarning a year-end showdown that could resemble the standoff that resulted in a gridlocked Congress and the nation's first ever credit rating downgrade. “We shouldn't dread the debt limit. We should welcome it. It's an action-forcing event in a town that has become infamous for inaction,” Boehner is expected to say Tuesday afternoon in remarks released by his office ahead of his talk at the Peter G. Peterson Foundation's 2012 Fiscal Summit in Washington.

As Mitt Romney slammed GOP rival Rick Santorum for repeatedly voting to raise the debt ceiling on Tuesday, he was standing alongside  Sen. Rob Portman  of Ohio who has  also cast several ballots to raise the cap on the nation's debt. The former Massachusetts governor praised Portman for not being like other Republicans who went to Washington and embraced the capital's free-spending ways. "We have in Washington a malady that affects so many there -- not your senator, but many others, who somehow think it's OK to spend money that they don't have," Romney told the employees of a medical device manufacture gathered in the suburb of Cincinnati.

Bill Clinton says if he were president, he would not hesitate to raise the debt-ceiling himself under authority he argues is granted by the U.S. Constitution. The two-term Democrat, who squared off with Republicans during two government shutdowns, contended in an interview Monday that the 14 th Amendment allows for the president to ensure the nation's debt is covered. He said he would “force the courts to stop me.” “I think the Constitution is clear, and I think this idea that the Congress gets to vote twice on whether to pay for [expenditures]

WASHINGTON -- House Speaker John A. Boehner said holders of U.S. government bonds should be paid first if the nation's debt limit is breached, even if that means that China would get preference over the salaries of U.S. troops. Boehner (R-Ohio) defended a Republican bill set for House consideration Wednesday that would order the Treasury Department to prioritize payments if the nation exceeded its statutory debt limit. The bill comes as congressional Republicans and President Obama prepare for another showdown over raising the debt limit as soon as this summer.

The federal government is expected to hit its statutory credit limit later this month, setting the stage for yet another battle between the Obama administration and the House GOP over raising the debt ceiling. Republican leaders of the House Ways and Means Committee reportedly want something new in return for raising the limit: an agreement to simplify the tax code and reduce rates. Lawmakers should know by now that it's self-destructive to play games with the debt ceiling, and that the brinkmanship that characterizes contemporary Washington politics needs to stop.

WASHINGTON - Legislation to suspend the nation's debt ceiling for a few months is on its way to the White House for President Obama's signature, clearing the Senate on Thursday after a series of failed votes on Republican-backed amendments to also cut federal spending. The GOP measures had little chance of gaining enough Democratic support to reach the 60-vote supermajority hurdle, but they did serve to release some of the pent-up frustration among Republican senators over the bill that will allow the $16.4 trillion debt limit to be raised to continue paying the nation's bills through May. The final bill was approved 64-34.

WASHINGTON - With agreement to lift the nation's debt ceiling secured, Congress now turns to the next budget showdown: the deep automatic spending cuts due to start hitting the economy in March, which lawmakers appear unwilling - or unable - to stop. The Senate sent legislation to temporarily suspend the $16.4-trillion debt limit to the White House on Thursday for President Obama's signature. The vote was 64 to 34, with mostly Republicans and one Democrat opposed. Now, Congress must decide whether to stop the $1.2 trillion in spending cuts that are scheduled to begin March 1. Those reductions were once considered so severe they would force lawmakers to the table to negotiate a more balanced deficit reduction compromise.

A well-organized retreat is said to be one of the most difficult military maneuvers: You're under enemy fire, your troops are likely to be demoralized, and you've got to avoid a rout. That why House Republicans' orderly withdrawal last week from an untenable position was unexpectedly impressive. House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and his conservative members had claimed their high ground, vowing to block an increase in the federal government's debt ceiling unless Democrats accepted deep cuts in spending.

WASHINGTON - House Republicans approved a temporary suspension of the $16.4-trillion ceiling on the nation's debt Wednesday, allowing the federal government to continue borrowing through spring while Washington shifts to more ambitious budget battles. Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) convinced his rebellious majority to go along with the new strategy by promising them the opportunity in the months ahead to extract deep spending cuts to Medicare and other domestic programs. The approach was a seismic political shift for Republicans who in the past had pressed for simultaneous cuts, which House Democrats dismissed as “irresponsible” and a “gimmick.” The vote was 285-144, and despite the robust support it would not have passed without Democrats -- 33 Republicans opposed it. QUIZ: Test your knowledge about the debt limit “We know with certainty that a debt crisis is coming to America,” said Rep. Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.)

During a closed-door meeting Monday with rank-and-file Republicans, House Speaker John Boehner is expected to outline a two-step process for raising the debt ceiling -- an approach rejected by President Obama -- as congressional Democrats prepare to unveil their own proposal for reducing deficits. Both the House and Senate are heading toward Wednesday votes on competing frameworks for reducing deficits, as Congress struggles to coalesce around a plan to raise the nation's debt limit by next week.

- Stepping up their austerity campaign, House Republicans plan to demand far deeper spending cuts from President Obama to balance the federal budget in just 10 years, an extraordinary goal that would hit Medicare and other safety-net programs. House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), confronted with a more conservative Republican majority, agreed to the dramatic initiative to coax reluctant rank-and-file lawmakers Wednesday to approve a temporary suspension of the $16.4-trillion debt limit without any cuts in spending.