Schumer Agaisnt raising the Debt limit

[Jroc]

At least he used to be...



Do you know how many times Chuck Schumer voted against raising the national debt ceiling?

If you answered "four times" to the question posed in the headline above, you are either spending way too much time in the Congressional Record, or you have superb research and recall skills! Let's just assume it's the latter.

Anyway, the right answer is indeed four times, at least. For the record, here's the four occasions, as documented by congressional records

H.R. 2015, Roll Call Vote #241: Passed 270-162, 6/25/97, Schumer Voted Nay

· H.J. Res. 51, Roll Call Vote #202: Passed 53-44, 5/23/03, Schumer Voted Nay

· S. 2986, Roll Call Vote #213: Passed 52-44, 11/17/04, Schumer Voted Nay

· H.J. Res. 47, Roll Call Vote #54: Passed 52-48, 3/16/06, Schumer Voted Nay

About which, Michael Steel, a key aide to House Speaker John Boehner observes:

“Sen. Schumer’s voting record is like a dagger aimed at the heart of his own credibility. It is clear that the American people will not tolerate a ‘blank check’ hike in the debt limit unless we deal with the real issue: out-of-control Washington spending. We’re listening to the American people, but the Democrats who run Washington, led by Sen. Schumer, are not.”



Read more at the Washington Examiner: Do you know how many times Chuck Schumer voted against raising the national debt ceiling? | Mark Tapscott | Beltway Confidential | Washington Examiner



Read more at the Washington Examiner: Do you know how many times Chuck Schumer voted against raising the national debt ceiling? | Mark Tapscott | Beltway Confidential | Washington Examiner

 

[The T]

At least he used to be...



Do you know how many times Chuck Schumer voted against raising the national debt ceiling?

If you answered "four times" to the question posed in the headline above, you are either spending way too much time in the Congressional Record, or you have superb research and recall skills! Let's just assume it's the latter.

Anyway, the right answer is indeed four times, at least. For the record, here's the four occasions, as documented by congressional records

H.R. 2015, Roll Call Vote #241: Passed 270-162, 6/25/97, Schumer Voted Nay

· H.J. Res. 51, Roll Call Vote #202: Passed 53-44, 5/23/03, Schumer Voted Nay

· S. 2986, Roll Call Vote #213: Passed 52-44, 11/17/04, Schumer Voted Nay

· H.J. Res. 47, Roll Call Vote #54: Passed 52-48, 3/16/06, Schumer Voted Nay

About which, Michael Steel, a key aide to House Speaker John Boehner observes:

“Sen. Schumer’s voting record is like a dagger aimed at the heart of his own credibility. It is clear that the American people will not tolerate a ‘blank check’ hike in the debt limit unless we deal with the real issue: out-of-control Washington spending. We’re listening to the American people, but the Democrats who run Washington, led by Sen. Schumer, are not.”



Read more at the Washington Examiner: Do you know how many times Chuck Schumer voted against raising the national debt ceiling? | Mark Tapscott | Beltway Confidential | Washington Examiner



Read more at the Washington Examiner: Do you know how many times Chuck Schumer voted against raising the national debt ceiling? | Mark Tapscott | Beltway Confidential | Washington Examiner

Chucky-Schumcky Shumer has NEVER been for/against anything that would make HIM look bad...after all? Commumate politician's guide was written BY him...

I can't stand the BASTARD.

 

[Soggy in NOLA]

Obama was against it as well.. remember? I think he called it a "failure of leadership".

 

[auditor0007]

Well if we want to seriously consider not raising the debt ceiling, then we have to look at how much we will need to cut along with how much we will need to raise taxes. In the short term, the most anyone is going to come up with in cuts might be half the amount we would need. That means the rest has to come in the form of tax increases. Now if someone wants to seriously discuss how that can be done, let's talk. Otherwise, the whole thing is a charade.

 

[Avatar4321]

Yeah. He changed his mind. People do that. Sometimes we have to do things we didn't want to do to address the problems we face. I don't want to raise the debt cieling. But I think we are going to have to do it in order to fix alot of the problems we are facing (Doesn't mean we can't get trillions in cuts while we are at it).

It's time we stop focusing on people and start focusing on ideas and solutions for the real problems we are currently facing. We need to change our rhetoric and start communicating with each other instead of past each other.

The biggest thing we can do to fix our society is fix ourselves instead of whining and complaining about what others do and then ask ourselves why they didnt do something.

And I hope none of you take what I am saying personally. I don't have a problem with you. I am just sick and tired of all the insanity going on. We need to address these problems now and stop prograstinating or there will be violence in the streets at some point and i sure as heck don't want that.

 

[OohPooPahDoo]

Well if we want to seriously consider not raising the debt ceiling, then we have to look at how much we will need to cut along with how much we will need to raise taxes. In the short term, the most anyone is going to come up with in cuts might be half the amount we would need. That means the rest has to come in the form of tax increases. Now if someone wants to seriously discuss how that can be done, let's talk. Otherwise, the whole thing is a charade.

Auditor is 100% correct.

The market will sniff out what's really going on before you see it on FOX. If its coming close to raise the debt ceiling - and we don't already have expenditures reduced below revenue, at some point the bond market will lose confidence we can actually get it done, and pummel U.S. Treasuries. Then its all she wrote. Investors - including nearly trillion each in China and Japan - will start dumping their treasuries, foreign banks will start dumping their dollar reserves, and Americans will be running on the banks to close out their accounts for what little they are worth. The FDIC, and social security will be bankrupt, as well as the federal reserve itself.

 

[Jroc]

Yeah. He changed his mind. People do that. Sometimes we have to do things we didn't want to do to address the problems we face. I don't want to raise the debt cieling. But I think we are going to have to do it in order to fix alot of the problems we are facing (Doesn't mean we can't get trillions in cuts while we are at it).

It's time we stop focusing on people and start focusing on ideas and solutions for the real problems we are currently facing. We need to change our rhetoric and start communicating with each other instead of past each other.
The biggest thing we can do to fix our society is fix ourselves instead of whining and complaining about what others do and then ask ourselves why they didnt do something.

And I hope none of you take what I am saying personally. I don't have a problem with you. I am just sick and tired of all the insanity going on. We need to address these problems now and stop prograstinating or there will be violence in the streets at some point and i sure as heck don't want that.

Yeah? The House has their plan and all we get from the Dems is bullshit from political hacks like Shumer who's putting out plans for reform and saving Medicare, Social Security ect... "Can't we all get along" that’s great, but we are getting nothing from Obama and the libs but political gamesmanship but "that’s what the caucus tells them to do" right?

 

[waltky]

Big business pushin' for raising the debt ceiling...

Big business: Quit screwing around on debt ceiling
May 12, 2011: WASHINGTON (CNNMoney) -- Big business has publicly jumped into the debt ceiling debate, warning lawmakers of dire consequences if they wait too long to raise the legal cap on government borrowing.

"We strongly agree that the failure to increase the statutory debt limit in a timely fashion could have a significant and long-lasting negative impact on the U.S. economy," according to a letter delivered to Congress on Wednesday by more than 50 business groups. In addition, the groups said they are also "extremely concerned" about federal debt and large annual budget deficits. The letter stops short of prescribing how Congress should raise the debt ceiling -- either as a stand-alone measure or as part of a budget-cutting package.

The clock is ticking: The current $14.294 trillion cap on the debt will need to be raised by early August at the latest. According to the most recent public figures, the debt was just $14 billion shy of the cap. Republicans in Congress don't want to raise the amount that the nation can borrow unless they can tie such bigger borrowing to other drastic budget cuts. Until Wednesday, the financial community hadn't applied strong public on the issue.

"With economic growth slowly picking up, we cannot afford to jeopardize that growth with the massive spike in borrowing costs that would result if we defaulted on our obligations," the letter stated. "It is critically important that the United States stands fully behind its legal obligations." Some of the most powerful business lobbying groups in Washington signed on to the petition. Among them: The American Gas Association, the Business Roundtable, Financial Services Forum, National Association of Manufacturers, Financial Services Roundtable and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Source

See also:

Bernanke: Debt ceiling fight poses Lehman-like risk
May 12, 2011: WASHINGTON (CNNMoney) -- Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke reinforced his call on Thursday for Congress to raise the cap on U.S. borrowing, saying a failure to do so could lead down the same risky path that the failure of Lehman Brothers did.

During a Senate Banking Committeee hearing, Bernanke reiterated catastrophic consequences should Congress either fail to raise the limit on borrowing or edge too close to that limit.

"The worst outcome would be one in which the financial system would be again destabilized, which we saw in Lehman, which would have extremely dire consequences for the rest of the economy," Bernanke said, referring to the period following the failure of the Wall Street bank Lehman Brothers at the height of the financial crisis in 2008.

Bernanke also said that "using the debt limit as a bargaining chip is quite risky," reiterating a worry he expressed in a February press conference. The clock is ticking: The current $14.294 trillion cap on the debt will need to be raised by early August at the latest.

According to the most recent public figures, the debt was just $14 billion shy of the cap. Republicans in Congress don't want to raise the amount that the nation can borrow unless they can tie such bigger borrowing to other drastic budget cuts.

Source

 

[waltky]

Granny says if we hadn't give dem bankers dat bailout an' if the rich would pay their fair share o' taxes, we wouldn't be in this mess...

Why the debt ceiling doubters are wrong
May 23, 2011: What happens if Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling by Aug. 2?

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says it would be "catastrophic." A growing number of Republicans say that's false -- at worst it would be "disruptive," in the words of Sen. Pat Toomey. The reality is nobody really knows because it has never happened before: Congress has gone down to the wire in the past but has always raised the debt ceiling just in time. "When I manage my family's finances, I would not do something where the consequences are unknown and unknowable," said Joe Minarik, who served as the chief economist of the White House Budget Office in the Clinton administration.

Likewise, he said, rolling the dice with the country's financing terrifies him. But that is what some lawmakers are willing to do if Congress can't agree on a deal that serves as a significant down payment on debt reduction by Aug. 2. If the ceiling isn't raised by then, the Treasury Department won't have enough money coming in to pay all the country's bills and won't be authorized to borrow to make up the difference. So that will mean delayed federal payments, Toomey said, but it won't be default, as Geithner has claimed.

In Toomey's opinion, the government can avoid default by continuing to pay interest and principal on outstanding debt. If investors get what's owed them, they won't blink if the country for a time can't pay all its other legal obligations on time. Even if Toomey is right, the reality would be a lot more difficult and complex than he makes it sound.

Daily cash crunch: It's true Treasury collects enough in revenue overall to more than cover its interest and principal payments. The problem is that on any given day, that's not necessarily the case. "You don't get paid in fiscal year 2011. You get paid on a Tuesday," said Susan Irving, director of federal budget issues at the Government Accountability Office.And some days, the Treasury will not be taking in as much as it has to pay out.

Deciding who gets paid: