Forget about raising the federal debt limit. House Republicans are proposing to ignore it altogether -- at least until May 18.
The House plans to vote Wednesday on a measure that would leave the $16.4 trillion debt limit intact but declare that it “shall not apply” from the date the measure passes until mid-May.
WaPo
So, they won't actually vote to raise the debt limit, because that would give the Tea Party a sad. But they will let the government borrow as though there were no debt limit, because otherwise the entire world economy will have a ginormous sadness. So when the suspension ends, the government will be instantly in default and way past its debt ceiling. That's very comforting.
The limit would kick in once again on May 19, when House leaders presume Congress will have agreed on a long-term strategy to rein in budget deficits driven to record levels by the recent recession. While the measure removes the threat of immediate crisis from a default, Congress faces other deadlines to force action on the budget. In addition to the halt in congressional paychecks, lawmakers face the imposition of sharp automatic spending cuts on March 1 and a potential government shutdown on March 27.
Kick ... kick ... kick ... government by small children with a tin can as their only toy.
John Boehner, you are not in control of this herd of cats ... but I don't actually know if anyone could be. Your party has sown the wind and reaped the lunatic fringe.
In addition to postponing a partisan fight over the debt limit, the measure seeks to force Senate Democrats to negotiate over a formal budget resolution by mandating that lawmakers’ paychecks be held in escrow starting April 15 unless Congress adopts a comprehensive framework for spending and tax policy.
Uh, guys, have you checked the financial disclosure form figures lately? The average Senator is worth quite a bit more than the average Representative. If it comes down to feeling a financial pinch, you guys will blink first. Memo to Nancy Pelosi: you might want to tap Jared Polis to set up a zero-interest line of credit for the few Democrats who might not be able to survive a few weeks or months off of savings.