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NEWS ABOUT: debt ceiling

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Treasury Pays Down Debt for First Time Since Dubya

Taxes, cuts give Treasury unexpected $35B

(Newser) - Spending cuts and tax hikes have boosted the federal government's finances enough to actually pay off some debt for the first time since George W. Bush was president. The Treasury Department, which predicted earlier this year that it would end the second quarter another $103 billion deeper in debt,... More »

Obama Seeking Grand Bargain by End of July

Come August, politics could make any deal impossible

(Newser) - The great quest for a grand bargain is on, and President Obama hopes to have a deficit-reduction deal by the end of July, reports the Hill . That's the word leaking out from Republican senators who attended a Wednesday night dinner with the president and are calling the meeting friendly... More »

Well Played, John Boehner: GOP Beats a Wise Retreat

Doyle McManus: House Republicans' move was 'unexpectedly impressive'

(Newser) - Democrats might be gloating about the decision by John Boehner and House Republicans to back off from the debt-ceiling fight, but Doyle McManus thinks they should be a little worried, too. Boehner, after all, engineered an "unexpectedly impressive" retreat: His lieutenants fell in line and the Tea Party contingent... More »

House Extends Debt Ceiling Until Mid-May

GOP initiative finds bipartisan support; Senate signals it will pass it

(AP) - The House passed a bill today to permit the government to borrow enough money to avoid default for the next few months, setting the stage for a springtime debate over taxes, spending, and the deficit. The House passed the measure by a 285-144 vote, a bipartisan showing on an initiative... More »

House Dem Leaders: Vote 'No' on GOP Debt Plan

But GOP is confident it will pass anyway

(Newser) - The word of the day in the House is not "bipartisanship." Sources tell Politico that Democratic leaders will urge their fellow lawmakers in a caucus meeting this morning to vote against the GOP's proposal to suspend the debt ceiling until May 19. Their intention: force Republicans to... More »

Obama Won't Block House GOP's Debt Bump

Short-term fix expected to pass today

(Newser) - The next debt-ceiling battle looks set to be delayed until at least May. The White House says President Obama "would not oppose" the House GOP's plan to suspend the debt limit until May 19, reports the Washington Post . Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has also backed the plan,... More »

Washington's Next Brawl: Senate's Budget Plan

Schumer: A 'great opportunity' for new revenues

(Newser) - So the fiscal cliff battle is over, and House Republicans look ready to approve a debt-ceiling increase through March. But taxes aren't out of the spotlight: Now, the stage is set for a tussle over Senate Democrats' budget blueprint, which Dems like Charles Schumer are calling "a great... More »

House to Vote on 3-Month Debt Ceiling Bump

But they'll demand that Senate pass budget in exchange

(Newser) - House Republicans have decided to vote on a bill to raise the debt ceiling for three months—provided the Senate agrees to pass a budget by the April 15 statutory deadline, John Boehner announced in his closing remarks for his caucus's three-day Williamsburg retreat. "Before there is any... More »

House GOP's New Idea: Short-Term Debt-Limit Boost

It would then shift focus to other deadlines

(Newser) - House Republicans are coming around to the idea of raising the debt ceiling—for a few months anyway. At a closed-door session at the caucus' annual Williamsburg, Va., retreat yesterday, Paul Ryan championed a plan to pass an extension of, say, one to three months, and shift the debate to... More »

Fact-Check Gives Obama 'Upside-Down Pinocchio'

Debt ceiling position a 'major flip-flop'

(Newser) - The Washington Post's "Pinocchio Rating" has become a fixture in politics, but it's pretty rare to see the iconic wooden liar standing backward and on his head. But you can see him that way today . In light of Obama's combative press conference yesterday, the paper decided... More »

White House to Federal Agencies: Get Ready for Cuts

Budget office tells agencies to prepare for upcoming 'sequester'

(Newser) - In anticipation of the $85 billion in automatic spending cuts (the " sequester ") that kick in March 1 unless Congress makes a budget deal to avert them, the White House budget office told federal agencies yesterday to "intensify" their preparations. The agencies were asked to think up... More »

No More Mr. 'Friendly Guy' Obama

Gloves have come off, write Dana Milbank and John Podhoretz

(Newser) - Yesterday, President Obama described himself as "a pretty friendly guy," capable of getting along with Republicans. Which, Dana Milbank at the Washington Post muses, "might have been a touch more plausible if he hadn't spent the bulk of the previous hour demonstrating just how adversarial he... More »

Gingrich to House GOP: Quit Threatening to Default

Instead, he suggests, focus on sequester, continuing resolution

(Newser) - Newt Gingrich has a message for House Republicans: Stop making empty threats. Congressional Republicans are saying they'll gladly default if President Obama doesn't agree to budget cuts as part of a debt ceiling deal, but that's "a fight they can't sustain," Gingrich said today... More »

Fitch Threatens Downgrade If Debt Deal Is Too Weak

Meanwhile, Pat Toomey introduces backup bill

(Newser) - The US credit rating is once again in danger thanks to a debt ceiling showdown. Fitch today announced that it may downgrade the US even if lawmakers manage to strike a deal, CNN Money reports. Fitch already has a negative outlook on the US' AAA rating, and said that would... More »

Obama: No 'Magic Tricks' for Debt Ceiling

President rules out executive debt ceiling fix

(Newser) - Looks like President Obama really doesn't have a trillion-dollar coin up his sleeve—or any other crafty debt ceiling fix. At what he billed as the last press conference of his first term today, Obama was asked if he'd consider executive action—possibly invoking the 14th amendment—to... More »

Majority of House GOP Totally Cool With Defaulting

Even more are OK with government shutdown: sources

(Newser) - More than half of House Republicans are OK with a government default if President Obama won't accept their budget-cut demands, party officials tell Politico . Even more GOP lawmakers are willing to allow a government shutdown come March 27. Taking the shutdown route would help ensure "President Obama understands... More »

Treasury: Forget About That $1T Platinum Coin

Treasury won't make it and Fed won't accept it

(Newser) - The $1 trillion platinum coin being touted as a bizarre solution to the debt ceiling debate will only ever exist as an illustration of just how dysfunctional Washington has become. A Treasury official tells the Washington Post that the department has no intention of minting such a coin to get... More »

Democrats to Obama: Skip Congress on Debt Ceiling

Reid, others say he should do so if Republicans won't budge

(Newser) - Senate Democrats have a suggestion for President Obama if House Republicans refuse to raise the debt ceiling to pay the nation's bills: Obama should circumvent Congress and raise the ceiling himself, reports the Hill . An excerpt of a letter from Harry Reid and other Democrats to the White House:... More »

Hurry, Mint That Platinum Coin

Paul Krugman: It's kind of a joke, but so is the current predicament

(Newser) - Despite facing plenty of blowback from wags, wonks, and politicos over the past week—such as Ezra Klein in the Washington Post —Paul Krugman is continuing his push for the $1 trillion platinum coin option to bypass the looming debt ceiling debate. ( Here's a summary of how... More »

Quick Debt Ceiling Fix: $1T Coin

Or, Obama could just raise limit himself

(Newser) - Think the whole debt-ceiling debate is silly? Paul Krugman does, too, and he's been pushing an admittedly "silly" way out of it. A legal loophole intended for making commemorative coins, he writes in the New York Times , could come in handy: Thanks to the rule, the US Treasury... More »

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