12 mins ago - Politics & Policy
Democrats propose raising debt ceiling through midterms
Alayna Treene,
House and Senate leadership announced on Monday that they plan to attach a proposal to raise the debt ceiling through Dec. 2022 to a short-term, government funding bill. The bill must pass before the end of the month or Congress risks a shutdown.
Why it matters: Democrats are taking a huge risk by trying to force through an increase of the debt limit in its must-pass funding bill. The move is wishful thinking on behalf of Democrats who are hoping they can get at least 10 centrist Republicans to balk, as well as an effort to put Republicans on record opposing it.
Republicans have repeatedly vowed to oppose any effort to raise the debt ceiling.
That means the ball will likely be punted back into Democratic leadership's court, and the government is increasingly running out of time to deal with the issue.
Congress is quickly approaching the deadline to raise the debt limit or risk defaulting on its debt for the first time in U.S. history by some point in October.
Timing: The House is expected to vote on the measure this week, then kick it to the Senate. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has pledged to oppose any such move and is adamant on forcing Democrats to deal with the debt limit on their own through the budget reconciliation process, which only requires a simple majority vote.
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https://www.axios.com/democrats-raise-debt-ceiling-midterms-2564b017-f8a2-4a02-a231-669282d88637.html
