Senate Republicans release budget blueprint with new tax cuts and a $5 trillion debt limit hike

[BumRushDaShow]

5. The irony

is that whenever Democrats attempted to raise the debt ceiling TO FUND ACTUAL GROWTH, the GOP delayed and delayed, bringing the country to the brink of collapse with "fiscal cliffs", and severely damaging the U.S.'s credit rating. They ran Obama through a fire-engulfed gauntlet back in 2011, forcing passage of -

S.365 - Budget Control Act of 2011

Note what went on with the above (from a Rice University think tank named for the Swiss Army knife GOPer, James Baker, who held multiple positions under Raygun and Poppy, and he is still around, soon to turn 95 this month) -

Reflecting on the Budget Control Act of 2011 and Its Relevance Now

February 16, 2023 | John W. Diamond, Autumn Engebretson

(snip)

In the several decades prior to 2011, increases in the debt ceiling normally occurred without debate. However, the significant and rapid growth in the federal budget deficit and debt following the Great Recession[1] led to calls for a reduction in the level of government spending. In 2011, the deficit as a percent of GDP was 8.4%, after peaking at 9.8% in 2009. Figure 1 shows the sharp rise in debt held by the public as a share of GDP during this time. It rose from 38.7% in 2008 to 64.3% in 2011.[2] It has since increased to 96.4% in 2021.

Many politicians and pundits argued that, without intervention, the U.S. debt would continue to grow as a share of GDP and have adverse effects on U.S. economic growth. The debt-ceiling crisis centered on the argument made by House Republicans that in exchange for an increase in the debt ceiling, the president would have to agree to a reduction in government spending and the federal deficit. Note, however, that there was bipartisan concern about the level of federal budget deficits and debt, as evidenced by the vote on HR 1954 (a bill to increase the debt ceiling as President Obama requested) on May 31, 2011: It failed by a vote of 318 to 97, with 236 Republicans and 82 Democrats voting against the bill.[3]

What Did the BCA Do?

In response to the crisis, the BCA was enacted in 2011. The BCA increased the debt ceiling by $400 billion in August 2011 and allowed President Obama to request additional increases of $500 billion and $1.2 trillion. The BCA included $917 billion in direct spending reductions over 10 years to offset the initial increase of $900 billion in the debt ceiling, with only $21 billion of the increase occurring in 2012. The $1.2 trillion increase in the debt ceiling was contingent on efforts to reduce the spending by an equal amount. To this end, the BCA created the Joint Committee of Deficit Reduction, required a vote on a balanced budget amendment, and stipulated across-the-board cuts to mandatory and discretionary spending if Congress failed to act to offset the $1.2 trillion increase in the debt ceiling.

(snip)

But when it comes time for them to give out goodies to their billionaire buddies, no such thing happens and magical solutions are found. And for the Senate bill, we're talking about raising the debt ceiling by $5 TRILLION.