Senator McConnell, Ky.'s Minority Leader, is accompanied by Sen. John Thune, South Dakota's Senate Minority Whip, and Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) who speak with reporters following a Republican caucus luncheon at Capitol Hill on Tuesday, June 8, 2021 in Washington. Alex Brandon/AP
2017 was the first year that the US's national debt exceeded $20 trillion.
Trump, the former President, added $7.8 trillion to debt through spending and tax cuts.
To cover fiscal decisions made in the past, the debt ceiling must be increased.
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Many people don't know much about the US' debt ceiling or when it should be raised. That is what Senate Republicans hope to capitalize on.
Here's what the GOP wants voters to know: Congress is being asked by the US Congress to raise the debt limit - the legal limit of how much the US government can owe to its creditors. This is because President Joe Biden and Democrats want to spend $3.5 Trillion on a plan that will expand Medicare, eliminate tuition at community college, and provide universal childcare.
This has been made clear by Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader. His caucus and he have not supported raising the debt ceiling, forcing Congress to miss the July 30 deadline. This could lead to a government shutdown or an economy-crashing default. McConnell insists that Democrats take it on their own as part of the multi-trillion-dollar spending plan.
"Democrats won’t get bipartisan support paving a pathway to partisan recklessness," this week's tweet from the Republican from Kentucky was posted by Twitter.
Although it is false, the raising of the debt limit does not mean that the US can borrow money to pay current debts. Marketplace clarifies (emphasis mine) that "the debt ceiling or debt limit is simply the amount of money the government can borrow to pay its existing obligations."
Social welfare spending by the Democrats has yet to occur; Congress has not passed legislation authorizing it.
(Additionally Democrats claim that their spending plan will not increase the national debt at any rate. They argue that it will be paid off over the next 10 year by higher taxes on corporations and Americans earning over $400,000. This may or may not be true over the long-term.
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The GOP hopes that the Democrats will link future spending to raising the debt limit now, and they can sell the debt they incurred on partisan terms.
Leonard Burman, co-founder of Tax Policy Center, describes this as "toddler fiscal strategy."
In a recent commentary, he stated that while legislators pass laws that will increase the debt, they postpone raising the borrowing limit until the country is at the brink of default. The grandstanding starts, with raising the limit being either patriotically necessary or an undue burden for our grandchildren, depending upon which party controls the White House.
The debt ceiling was increased multiple times by Republicans during Donald Trump's presidency. They had to, as the debt exploded under Trump's watch just like it did under his predecessors.
According to the federal Office of Management and Budget, the national debt increased by $1.2 trillion during Trump's first full fiscal years in office. In the following year, it grew by $4.3 trillion.
ProPublica reported that the US debt increased by almost $7.8 trillion during Trump's presidency. This was partly due to emergency spending during the pandemic. These funds kept the US economy in balance and kept people fed and safe. This spending spree almost cut the US poverty rate by half.
The debt is also a result of the 2017 Republican tax cut. Corporate tax rates fell from 35% to 21%, without any proportional reduction in federal spending.
The bills are due and the debt can now be blamed on political opponents. Now the deficit matters and Republicans are moralizing again about fiscal responsibility. Don't let this fool you: The $28 trillion national deficit is as bipartisan as it gets in Washington, regardless of whether or not one supports tax cuts for corporations or social spending.
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