Debt Ceiling Vote Could Spark First U.S. House GOP Battle

By Star Tribune via HispanicBusiness.com

A looming revolt against raising the national debt limit has opened the first visible rift between the new GOP leadership in the U.S. House and a faction represented by House Tea Party Caucus leader Michele Bachmann.

The Minnesota Republican also has received high-profile backing from former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who has made opposition to raising the debt ceiling part of his likely presidential campaign.

On the other side of the argument are a majority of Democrats and Republican leaders, including House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, who say reality dictates raising the country’s $14.3 trillion debt ceiling or facing a U.S. default. That limit could be reached as soon as March 31, forcing what Boehner has called the first major vote that lawmakers must handle “as adults.”

The Obama administration warns that not raising the debt limit would spark catastrophe should the country default on its loans, triggering an economic collapse worse than the 2008 financial crisis and lasting for decades.

But Bachmann and her allies have stood firm against authorizing more debt, one of the central tea party issues in November’s elections that turned the House over to the GOP. She has circulated a petition with 150,000 signatures against raising the limit, along with proposed spending cuts of more than $400 billion.

To read more, visit: http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/news/2011/2/3/debt_ceiling_vote_could_spark_first.htm

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Posted by reteaparty on Feb 4 2011. Filed under Finance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry