RightChange: Incremental Debt Ceiling Hike?

Congress will return to Washington from their Spring Break Monday and the first order of business is likely to be about the debt ceiling.  Time is running out for Congress to continue to borrow money.  Republicans want a ceiling raise if it comes with spending cuts.  Democrats want a debt raise with no caps on spending.  Republicans can try as hard as they can to pass cuts, but with a Democratic majority in the Senate and a Democratic President, there are going to have to be creative.

Some Republican lawmakers are open to thinking outside the box:

“House Republicans are considering a plan to grant only incremental increases to the federal debt limit in a bid to extract more concessions on spending cuts and budgetary reform from the Obama administration.”

So who is the man rallying for incremental debt ceiling increases and just how incremental are we talking about?

“My argument is, you give them two months at a time, because each time you could get something reasonable,” Norquist told The Hill in an interview this week at his downtown offices.  The proposal has gained traction with some members of the conservative Republican Study Committee, who plan to bring it up in “listening sessions” scheduled by party leaders for after the Easter recess.”

If the government shutdown compromise over $38 billion in cuts took one month to settle, imagine how long it will take for Congress to debates their ability to borrow $2 trillion every 2 months.  Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is suggesting an increase of $2 trillion:

“The Treasury Department has not specified how high it wants the debt ceiling raised — though Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner recently suggested a ballpark of $2 trillion — saying it is up to Congress to decide.”

Last time we let the Congress decide on how much to cut, we ended up cutting a lousy $38 billion from an almost $2 trillion deficit.  The biggest decision that will affect America’s standing in the world economy is about to take place and Congress has been on a two-week vacation.  Obama wants to borrow more money, Democrats want to borrow more money and Republicans want to borrow more money if it comes with cuts.  This creative new proposal is more foolish anything else.  Republicans should stop weaseling their way around Democrats and make a stand.

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