(2 pm. – promoted by ek hornbeck)
After having decided in December to delay raising the debt ceiling for the third time at the request of Congress until they returned from vacation in January, President Barack Obama has sent a letters to the House and Senate requesting the ceiling be raised. The debt ceiling has come within $100 billion of the current $15.194 trillion limit. The formal letters trigger a 15-day clock for Congress to consider and vote on a joint resolution disapproving of the increase. The vote a resolution of disapproval will be held in the House on January 18.
The trigger for the request actually occurred on December 30 while the President was vacationing in Hawaii and congress was “on a holiday break”. This is the third and final request to raise the ceiling that was agreed to last year when congress approved the budget. The last resolution of disapproval passed the Republican controlled House but failed in the Democratic controlled Senate. It’s expected that will again be the case, sparing President Obama the need to veto it.
This last bump will carry the government’s ability to pay its bills past the November elections when another raise will have to be discussed by the lame duck congress. Looking forward to that battle.
1 comments
Author