Debt ceiling

Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress are poised to stand in the way of lifting the nation's borrowing limit next month, increasing the chances of real problems for House and Senate leaders as they try to increase the debt ceiling by an end-of-September deadline. House and Senate conservatives have long insisted that debt ceiling increases be accompanied by spending reforms, and that hasn't changed this year, even under a Republican president who is insisting on a "clean" debt ceiling increase.

All presidents want a clean debt ceiling increase. The only way automatic debt ceiling increases will stop is if grassroots conservatives turn out and demand that spending be cut, as President Trump’s budget proposed, and that Congress implement debt reforms now.

The Boehner – Ryan policy of governing via continuing resolution means that federal spending remains on auto-pilot, with no opportunity – other than the debt ceiling vote – for conservatives to have any chance of cutting spending.

Any Republican that votes to bring the #ZombieBudget to the Floor deserves a Primary election challenge. We urge you to call your Representative, the House switchboard is 1-866-220-0044, tell him or her you demand a NO vote on the rule to bring the #ZombieBudget to the House floor and an end to the secret deals with Obama to increase spending and the debt ceiling and burden our children and grandchildren with billions of dollars of new Establishment Republican debt.

The suspense -- or rather, the suspension -- is over. The U.S. debt ceiling has been reset at $18.113 trillion, the Treasury Department said Tuesday. That new limit on public debt is about $1 trillion above where it stood in February 2014, when lawmakers decided to "suspend" the ceiling through this past weekend.

The United States has yet again reached its borrowing limit, setting the stage for a broad fiscal debate that could be the defining issue of the 114th Congress. The nation will again reach its statutory debt limit on Monday, March 16, 2015. Its return has sent the Treasury Department hunting for funds to continue paying the bills, as lawmakers begin strategizing over the issue behind some of the most pitched battles of President Obama’s tenure.

The gleeful speculation of the “demise” of the tea party amidst disappointing 2014 primary results is giving way to a very different reality. Seasoned political observers have come to realize that the opposite is in fact true; the tea party is maturing as a political movement. 

Jim DeMint said, “I think a lot of Americans, regardless of political labels, feel the same way. This [the Tea Party] is just millions of Americans who are concerned about spending and debt … a lot of folks who believe in limited government, less spending and debt are concerned that under this president.”

Jim DeMint believes R's did the only thing they thought they could do. "Repub. leaders have figured out that they either give Obama all the money and debt he wants or he's going to close the gov't down and blame it on them."

When does the Repub. Party, put in power by the Tea Party, plan to honor its commitment to halt the growth of the Federal monolith and bring the budget back into balance? Is there is any hope things will be different, should the Tea Party help produce a GOP Senate in '14? If the Tea Party is in some despair, is it not understandable?

For decades CHQ Chairman Richard Viguerie has been hammering away on the Republican establishment on Capitol Hill for trying to dupe limited government constitutional conservative voters. Now a new generation of conservatives is joining Viguerie in calling out the Republican congressional “leaders” as frauds. Sign and share the "Fire Boehner" petition.

To:
All Members of U.S. House of Representatives Republican Conference

Estab. Repub. Rep. Peter King defended John Boehner after the House passed a clean debt-limit bill that raised the ire of conservatives. King branded as “morons” many conservatives in the GOP caucus who consistently oppose any effort to pass the debt limit.

Matt Hoskins of the Senate Conservatives Fund sure got it right when he said, "We will never stop the massive spending and debt that are destroying our country if the Republican Speaker of the House surrenders to the Democrats and stabs conservatives in the back.”

Rank and file House R's opposed to their leadership's debt limit plan are brainstorming new ways to limit federal spending. Even as GOP leaders seem intent on pushing through a debt ceilng bill this week that doesn't demand any new spending curbs, several conservative lawmakers are pressing for new ideas.

House R's appear to be moving closer to tying a debt ceiling increase to a repeal of the insurance co. bailout clause in Obamacare. Removing the "risk corridor" provision in OCare seemed to have more support than linking the debt limit to approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline.

The problem for Repubs. is that the people who brought them to power didn’t ask for consensus and smooth processes. Conservatives wanted blocking and tackling.

House Repubs. are getting ready to surrender. There will be no serious fight over the debt limit as senior House R's acknowledge that they'll need to abandon the central fight that has defined their 3-year majority.

The Oct. debt ceiling negotiations endned with Repubs. dropping their demands for spending cuts and other concessions and accepting a deal to suspend it through 2/7. The White House stated that Obama will “not pay ransom” for getting Congress to fulfill its duty to increase the ceiling.

Obama and Congress will be plunged into another battle over the debt ceiling when they return to DC from the holiday break. Due to the gov't shutdown, Congress must act on an increase in the $16.7 trillion borrowing limit far sooner than expected.