US House Passes Legislation Addressing Nation's Debt Ceiling

The United States House of Representatives, by the narrowest of margins Wednesday, passed legislation to address the nation's looming debt ceiling crisis while also cutting spending. Democrats call it extortion, while Republicans call it necessary.

Democrats insisted it’s wrong and reckless for Republicans to link their support for increasing the debt ceiling — and thus avoiding default — with mandatory spending cuts. Republicans said it’s reckless not to—because it’s the only way to stop the Democrats’ out-of-control spending.

"We think out of control spending is going to make life worse," said Rules Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK4) during debate on the rule bringing the legislation to the House floor.

Rep. Cole and his Republican colleagues said, as well-intentioned as Democrats may have been the last two years, their multi-trillion dollar relief and infrastructure bills, overlapping with a war in Europe and a global pandemic, authorized spending that is unsustainable.

"All of those things have driven us into inflation that I’ve not seen since the Jimmy Carter years when I was a college student trying to start the farm," said Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK3) in an interview last week.

The so-called Limit, Save, Grow Act would authorize increased borrowing up to $1.5 trillion or until the end of next March, whichever comes first, and would reduce spending $4.5 trillion over the next ten years.

Oklahoma Congressman Josh Brecheen said some of the cuts may be tough, but restraint is the only way to treat overspending.

"So we take the treatments, the hardship now, instead of pushing inevitability of pain out into the future,” said Brecheen (R-OK2) in a recent interview.

Democrats argued the debt was built up by both parties and therefore the responsible thing to do is pass a clean debt ceiling bill--no conditions.

"I mean, we are happy to have a conversation on our spending priorities, absolutely! We welcome that conversation,” said Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), Rules Committee Raking Member, “but this isn’t a conversation. They handed us a ransom note."

Republicans said it's no such thing--it's an opening proposal.

"We don’t expect you’ll take everything or agree with everything, we know you control the United States senate, we know the president has a veto,” said Cole on the House floor, “but you are going to talk with us and you’re not going to get a clean debt ceiling."

As Rep. Cole implied during debate, the legislation won’t go anywhere in the Democrat-controlled Senate, but Republicans are counting on passage of their bill putting enough pressure on the president and leaders in the Senate that they agree to come to the bargaining table.

Each member of the state’s delegation voted for the bill.