As Congress prepared to wrap up work on a budget deal that resolved the Republicans’ debt ceiling crisis, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer declared last night, “America can breathe a sigh of relief — because in this process, we are avoiding default.” As NBC News reported, he and his colleagues voted soon after to pass the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
The Senate voted Thursday night to pass a bill that would extend the debt ceiling for two years and establish a two-year budget agreement on a broad bipartisan vote. The vote was 63-36.
Despite the fact that the measure was endorsed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, only 17 of the chamber’s 49 Senate Republicans — roughly one-third — voted for the bipartisan compromise. In contrast, nearly two-thirds of the House GOP conference helped approve the same bill a day earlier.
The agreement now heads to the White House for President Joe Biden’s signature, with just a few days to spare ahead of the default deadline.
At this point, it’s easy to imagine some observers concluding that this process really wasn’t that bad after all. Sure there was a hostage standoff, the argument goes, but the powers that be worked out a compromise; leaders in both parties and both chambers endorsed it; and the deal cleared Capitol Hill with relative ease ahead of the x-date.
Perhaps, these observers will say, the debt ceiling policy isn’t that scary after all. Everyone has an interest in making sure the default bomb doesn’t go off, so the public — here and around the world — can take some comfort in the apparent fact that officials won’t actually allow it to detonate. The status quo is fine, the argument goes. All’s well that ends well. The talk about reforming the system is overwrought.
Those making this argument are mistaken.
This process was ridiculous, and by any fair measure, indefensible. Congressional Republicans could’ve pursued these same goals through the normal, traditional budgetary process, but…
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