Efforts to raise the federal borrowing limit and to pass a continuing budget resolution to keep the federal government open after September 30 appear to be nearing a critical stage in the House. On August 26, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew told lawmakers that the federal government is running out of extraordinary measures put in place to stave off default. The government reached its statutory debt limit in May, said Lew in a letter to House leaders. Without congressional action by mid-October, the Treasury might be forced to fund the government with only about $50 billion of cash on hand, Lew said.
Some House GOP lawmakers want Congress to pass greater spending cuts for entitlement programs as the price for raising the debt limit, while others want to link repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) (P.L. 111-148) to the debt legislation. But those efforts have caused Democrats to cry foul. Democrats believe the nation is already reeling from spending cuts enacted as part of the Budget Control Act of 2011 (P.L. 112-25) and the resulting budget sequestration. House Ways and Means Committee ranking member Sander Levin, D-Mich., urged Republican lawmakers not to engage in the same type of brinksmanship over the debt limit that affected the U.S. credit rating in 2011. "Congress must pay its bills based on the legislative bills that it has passed, living up to our obligations and paying our bills just like the American family does," Levin said.
Appearing on the CNBC program, "Squawk Box" on August 27, Lew said bipartisan leaders in Congress are aware of the seriousness of a default on the federal debt and that no one is calling for a repeat of 2011. "I don't yet see that they have a plan to avoid it, which is one of the reasons it's so important for them to come back in just a couple of weeks and get to work on getting this done," he said.
Meanwhile, a group of 80 House Republicans informed House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, on August 21 that they would not vote to keep the federal government operating after fiscal year 2014 begins in October if the PPACA is not defunded. The lawmakers said they believe that "Obamacare" should not go into effect and that implementation and enforcement of the health care law should not be included in any relevant appropriations bill, including a continuing resolution.
Without congressional action on the 12 annual spending bills, or a continuing appropriations bill providing temporary funding, the federal government will close its doors on October 1. Congress will return from its August recess period on September 9 and lawmakers are only scheduled for nine legislative work days during the month.
By Stephen K. Cooper, CCH News Staff
Sent from Rebecca Parrott Tatum, CPA's iPhone
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