With Congress in Gridlock, Obama Should Raise the Debt Ceiling Himself

The Aug. 2 deadline is looming. The U.S. has just five days to negotiate raising the debt ceiling before risking a double-dip recession or even a depression (and it might not even have that long). Democrats blame Republicans for hijacking a typically procedural vote and are furious that many in the GOP refuse to agree to even minute tax raises. Meanwhile, Republicans claim that negotiating with President Obama has been like “dealing with jello,” and allege that Democrats have been trying to bloat the government even further. Political bickering aside, it is becoming increasingly clear that a deal won’t be reached in the next five days. Therefore, Obama needs to heed President Clinton’s advice and invoke the Fourteenth Amendment in order to unilaterally increase the debt ceiling.

As of now, there are three legitimate options on the table in Congress: the Cut, Cap, and Balance plan, House Speaker John Boehner’s (R-OH) revised bill, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) proposal.

Cut, Cap, and Balance has already passed the House, but it has virtually no chance of getting through the Senate (and would be vetoed by Obama even if it did). The bill has so little chance of passing that Senator John McCain (R-AZ), one of its staunchest supporters, blasted his constituents on Wednesday for wasting time on it.

Boehner’s bill has not yet passed the House, and it’s becoming increasingly obvious that it does not have enough Republican backing to do so. Even if Boehner does find enough support, the bill still faces a Democratic-controlled Senate and a likely veto from Obama.

While Reid’s plan has Obama’s backing, it would likely face a filibuster from Republican senators. More importantly, the plan has zero chance of getting through the House: if Boehner can’t get enough House Republicans to back his deal, the chance of Reid’s plan making it through the lower chamber is slim to none, and the Congressional Black Caucus has said they won’t support Reid’s bill.

Truthfully, Boehner and Reid’s plans aren’t that different, but reconciliation efforts stalled when Boehner stormed out of talks with President Obama over the weekend. Now the two sides are left pushing their own bills, neither of which have much hope of mustering enough support. Unfortunately, both sides seem more interested in scoring political points than getting back to the negotiating table at this point. Another possibility—a clean debt ceiling increase—seems even less likely. Though such legislation has been introduced, too many Republicans have said that they will not raise the debt ceiling without also passing offsetting budget cuts.

There’s a chance that Congress gets its act together in the next few days; a deal on the federal budget was agreed to at the last minute just a few months ago, and as Reuters points out, Congress has a habit of getting things done with its August vacation looming. But we shouldn’t be holding our breath.

President Clinton said recently if he were still in office he would raise the ceiling and “force the courts to stop me.” The Fourteenth Amendment states that “the validity of the public debt of the United States… shall not be questioned,” which some experts have said means that Obama could raise the debt ceiling if the country’s ability to pay off its debt was in question. While White House officials have said that they don’t consider this a viable tactic, it’s a strategy that Obama should reconsider. Several Democrats, including Senator Barbra Boxer (D-CA) have agreed:

“As far as the Fourteenth Amendment is concerned, I urge everybody to get their Constitution and read it. It says the debts of the United States shall not be questioned,” Boxer said. “If [Republicans] want to make this country a deadbeat nation, this president shouldn’t allow it, none of us should allow it. And I think he should seriously look at whatever options he has.”

I’m not a lawyer, and I don’t know whether this tactic would stand up in court; there have been articles written arguing both sides of the issue. But isn’t it worth a shot? Though there would be strong political backlash, and issuing legally questionable debt payments is risky, it’s certainly a better option than doing nothing. Obama would likely face an even greater legal struggle if the debt ceiling isn’t raised in time, and in that scenario, a credit downgrade is guaranteed. Obama’s hope is that Congress gets it together between now and next Tuesday. But when they don’t, Obama should be ready and willing to take matters into his own hands.

Jeffrey Boxer is an intern with Campus Progress.

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