Obama Gets Support from Senate Democrats on Ceiling Increase
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and other members of Senate Democratic leadership sent a letter to President Barack Obama Friday that urged the White House to bypass Congress on increasing the debt ceiling. The letter was sign by Reid and Senators Dick Durbin of Illinois, Patty Murray of Washington, and Chuck Schumer of New York.
The letter is the strongest show of support from Senate Democrats that they would back President Obama if he were to use his executive authority to unilaterally increase the nation’s borrowing limit if the House Republicans continue to oppose it. The letter states that if the Republicans make good on their threat not to act in passing a debt limit increase or pass one as part of unreasonable legislation, then the president should take lawful steps to ensure that America doesn’t default on its obligations and trigger a global economic crisis.
It was reported last week that Reid offered President Obama his support for a unilateral option even though the White House said that the administration doesn’t believe the 14th amendment gives the president the authority to ignore the debt ceiling.
In the letter, the senators urged President Obama to ignore claims that increasing the debt ceiling is part of a concession by Republicans to Democrats. The president maintained that he would not negotiate with Republicans over the country’s ability to continue to pay off its obligations.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell slammed the letter. He described the action to bypass Congress on the debt ceiling as the height of irresponsibility. He added that the Democrat leadership are hiding under their desks and hoping t the president will find a way around the law with regards to the nation’s credit limit.
Increasing the nation’s borrowing limit doesn’t authorize new spending by the federal government. It would enable the government to continue to pay for obligations to which Congress has already approved.
As the shareholders in Germany opposes the re-election of Mr Flint as Chairman and Mr Gulliver CEO of HSBC Holdings ...
Since Obama seems to never know anything about any issue at any given time on any given subject from any ...
a one year high of $63.82? On May 15th?
What a nonsense, the shares were at $77.11!
I consider myself a moderate republican and talk like this scares the heck out of me.
Bypassing congress, issuing executive orders because you can’t get the laws you want passed.
Are we going down a road to dictatorship?
The people who created this country set it up the way they did for very good reasons.
Mainly to make sure that no branch of government would have too much power.
As messed up as things are in DC right now you do not throw away a system that has worked for over two hundred years because it is inconvienent.
God Bless the U.S.A.
Those who fear dictatorship should consider the obstructionist action of the GOP for the last 4 years.
That endangers the security of the country by clogging up the smooth flow of government and
lead us to a downgrade in credit rating last time.
Those treasonous actions by the GOP are reason enough to bypass them and protect the country and the credit rating.
I know the average GOP does not understand that the elected are carrying out their own agenda without regard to the wishes of the electorate. Just look at the polls versus what the GOP is voting.
Until the GOP gets its act together and works for the good of the country instead of the inner leadership personal goals, the country will be in some jeopardy.
The GOP has not lead but has dragged its feet as much as possible for the last 4 years, and continues to do so.
Why is it that the left always whines about “obstruction” when they don’t get their way? It’s funny that you KoolAid drinking lefties always see evil in the GOP, but never seem to notice or even care when it comes from your own party.
We’re over $16 trillion in red ink, yet the clowns in the Senate and the king of the idiots, our Impostor-in-Chief, only want to raise our borrowing so they can spend even more. And on what? Oh, right – more “stimulus” packages that do nothing.
Hey, here’s an idea. Why don’t we pay for what we already owe, and not raise entitlement spending another notch? There’s plenty of money to do that, if we would only stop The Democrats and Obama from finding more ways of wasting it.
Yes, this is the best decision for our country and the Democratic Party… In fact we should do away with Congress and the House all together and just let The president be the rule of law in the United States of America.
This man is more dangerous to our nation than Osama Bin Ladin ever was… checks and balances is the only way we keep our freedoms and un·al·ien·a·ble Rights.
Throw away that bible and read the the Constitution for the United States of America so you too are an informed American.
Your cynical views and sarcastic comments are sort of correct.
We should get rid of congress and leave the senate in place.
We have a rational and intelligent president who has made good decisions.
Unlike W who started and continued 2 wars, and added medicare part D, all without any funding.
Now the GOP who let him do that wants cuts for every expenditure.
Where were they when the W was leading us into crisis.
And, wars do not stop when the term of office is over, so the wars have kept on even though they are winding down now.
W had about 7 years of war and O has had 4 of the continued W wars, and medicare D is still going strong, all on borrowed dollars.
When we need to pay the debt, we need Revenue.
The GOP says no more revenue – so how to pay the debt.
It cannot be done without more revenue.
So the GOP chicken precedes the GOP egg and they say no more revenue to pay the debt.
If we do it by cuts in entitlements, then we will have a country of beggars like India.
That seems of little concern to the GOP.
Yes we have a wise president who can lead us as he has for the last 4 years.
It is unfortunate that the underlying tone of all this is the GOP hatred of a black president.
No matter that they say it is his good and sound policies, that is the cover line for the
feeling that “I don’t like the idea of a black man being president.”
It that racist – YES.
Are we a nation of a lot os racists? YES
Is the GOP generally racist – Yes
Get some grip in reality and face the facts that we have a black president who is
doing a good job in spite of the obstructionist GOP elected.
Half of the country feels like Obama has done a terrible job, though. Just because you don’t agree doesn’t make it any less true. I don’t know ANYONE who feels like it has anything to do with race. Most of the people that I know who don’t care for Obama feel like he spends too much time trying to be a celebrity rather than a leader, and that he comes up with bad policies that he forces on the rest of us (Obamacare as a whole is abysmal, although nearly everyone I talk to likes the parts about not denying coverage over pre-existing conditions–nobody I know, including the working poor, wants to be forced to buy it). He is getting terribly close to stepping over the line with his threats of executive orders, over the debt and over guns. And giving a raise to all the members of Congress days before the fiscal cliff vote was atrocious, as shown by both the House and senate voting to block it. Congress shouldn’t have to vote against executive orders. That got bi-partison support, telling Obama to cool his heels.
Stupid people do stupid things, and we are now seeing the result of this national stupidity. The only reason our Liar-in-Chief and the Democrats want more money is so they can spend more money – it has nothing to do with the ability to pay our existing bills.
The interest on our debt costs us $359 billion last year; the IRS collected over $2.4 trillion. Hey! looks like we have some money left over. But the problem is, its never enough for these guys.
Our “rational and intelligent president” – sorry, I just threw up a little in my mouth – has indeed led us for the past four years. But in the completely wrong direction. I am so sorry that people like you cannot see that, and I only hope that you don’t have any children.
As to your ignorant comments on the president’s race, you lefties need to get a clue: stupid comes in all colors. Thanks for voting without a brain, your country is worse off for it.
Fear really wow its soooo Scary. The only you have to fear is fear itself. You don’t need the stress or get a life have fun stop worrying about things u have no control over. Then your wiser.peace
A fair fight, yes, but nobody gets bypassed, circumvented or nullified.
That’s not how to run the government.
Nor can we run it long with arm-twisting, expediency and gimmicks.
Governing is hard work and we’ll just have to work through it. There are no easy roads to governing, just as there are no easy roads to learning.
And for the same reason: Governing requires effort — not only to understand what needs to be done — but also effort to understand the other side.