The Hill News

By law, a statutory limit restricts the total amount of debt the federal government can accumulate. This limit can only be increased by Congress. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner noted in a letter to Congress yesterday that this “debt ceiling” will be reached as early as March 31, 2011.

Many “Tea Party” candidates campaigned on the promise to vote against any increases to the debt ceiling. Following through on this pledge would be unbelievably reckless and could potentially crater the U.S. economy. 

 As I wrote last November: 

“The budgetary consequences of this conservative pledge would be catastrophic and far-reaching, forcing the immediate cessation of more than 40 percent of all federal government activities (excluding only interest payments on the national debt), including Social Security, military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, homeland security, Medicare and unemployment insurance. This would not only threaten the safety and economic security of all Americans but also have dire impacts for the economy and job growth.  

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