Democrats ask Biden to use the 14th amendment to raise the debt ceiling without Congress

Leftist Senator Bernie Sanders and several Democratic lawmakers on Thursday urged US President Joe Biden to use the power conferred by a constitutional amendment to raise the debt ceiling without going through congressional approval.

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This is Amendment 14, which establishes that the validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, will not be questioned, and the president could rely on it arguing that he has a constitutional duty to avoid non-payment.

“Is the 14th amendment the perfect solution? No, but using it would allow the United States to continue paying its bills on time and avoid economic catastrophe and devastating cuts for some of the most vulnerable people in the country,” Sanders said at a news conference.

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The request to skip the usual routes has been endorsed so far by 11 senators and it comes at a time when Biden has intensified negotiations with congressional leaders to try to reach an agreement.

This same Wednesday the president was convinced that they will reach an agreement, but has canceled the trip he was going to make to Papua New Guinea and Australia after the G7 summit in Japan to return to Washington sooner and continue the negotiations.

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“The president should exercise your authority under the 14th amendment to protect our economy and our country’s credit,” Senator Ed Markey added to the press, who had an impact on the request that Biden do “whatever is necessary” to prevent Republicans from “pushing the economy off a cliff.”

The group said that it will support him in the process: “We know that this road has not been traveled before and that every president is hesitant to go down uncharted trails, but we’ve got his back. We stand with him against this type of unacceptable hostage-taking,” said Congressman Jeff Merkley.

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The United States has never defaulted on its national debt, but from time to time it looks at that possibility because, unlike other countries, its Executive can only issue debt up to the limit established by Congress, which has the power to suspend that ceiling as it sees fit.

The current limit, of 31.4 billion, was reached last January. The government is currently drawing on money in its reserves to pay off debts it has incurred, but the Treasury Department estimates those reserves will run out on June 1.

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Republicans try to condition its elevation on the application of spending cuts, but Democrats oppose it to that both factors are linked: “It would be as disastrous to stop paying the debt as to approve the scandalous Republican proposal,” warned Sanders.

EFE