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Obama signs debt-ceiling bill

President Obama signed a bill Monday night suspending the federal debt ceiling, a measure that will allow the government to temporarily avoid default until August.

But the bill foreshadows another tough budget battle to come.The legislation will allow the government to borrow around $450 billion to meet interest payments and continue distributing government salaries and benefits, including Social Security. But with the suspension set to expire in mere months, the president and congressional Republicans are likely to again engage in a high-stakes negotiations over the government’s budget and borrowing abilities. …

The president, who signed the bill shortly after returning from Minneapolis, has praised the legislation as a positive step toward an eventual debt deal. Obama has also called for a larger debt deal that would reduce health care spending and close certain tax loopholes and deductions.

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The Debtinator.

fogw on February 5, 2013 at 8:32 AM

The last budget passed by a Republican House, Republican Senate, and Republican President was passed in 2006 for Fiscal Year 2007.

By the end of FY 2007, on September 30, 2007, that Republican budget featured a deficit of less than $161 Billion, and the total national debt on September 30, 2007 was $9,007,653,372,262.48

After five continuous years of Democrats having majority control of spending, the total national debt on September 30, 2012 was $16,066,241,407,385.89

Democrat majorities increased the total national debt by over $7 Trillion in just 5 years. An average of over $1.4 Trillion in new debt per year.

Consider all of the debt accumulated over all of the budgets up to and including Fiscal Year 2007. Nine Trillion Dollars. Then consider that Democrat majorities increased that total national debt by Seven Trillion Dollars, an increase of over 78%, in just five years.

ITguy on February 5, 2013 at 8:47 AM

I wish I could could do this. Must be real nice to have the power to flip off your debtors & keep acting irresponsibly bcs they call you Mr President.

Badger40 on February 5, 2013 at 8:51 AM

I’d dearly love to just suspend my debt ceiling… but Mastercard and my mortgager are reluctant to agree.

44Magnum on February 5, 2013 at 8:52 AM

“The problem is, is that the way Bush has done it over the last eight years is to take out a credit card from the Bank of China in the name of our children, driving up our national debt from $5 trillion for the first 42 presidents – #43 added $4 trillion by his lonesome, so that we now have over $9 trillion of debt that we are going to have to pay back — $30,000 for every man, woman and child. That’s irresponsible. It’s unpatriotic.”

- Barack Obama July 3, 2008

Bush with a Republican majority passed budgets for FY 2002,3,4,5,6,and 7
Let’s look at the Total National Debt at the start and end of those fiscal years:
09/30/2001 $5,807,463,412,200.06
09/30/2007 $9,007,653,372,262.48
——————————————–
Increase over 6 years: $3,200,189,960,062.42
(not the “4 Trillion by his lonesome” that Obama falsely claimed that Bush added to debt)
Average per year of Bush with a Republican majority: $533,364,993,343.74

Obama with a Democrat majority passed budget for FY 2009, then failed to pass a budget since.
Let’s look at the Total National Debt at the start and end of those fiscal years:

09/30/2008 $10,024,724,896,912.49
09/30/2012 $16,066,241,407,385.89
——————————————–
Increase over 4 years $6,041,516,510,473.40
Average per year of Obama with a Democrat majority: $1,510,379,127,618.35

Again,

Average increase to the Total National Debt per year of Bush with a Republican majority: $533,364,993,343.74 ($533 Billion, or $0.533 Trillion)

Average increase to the Total National Debt per year of Obama with a Democrat majority: $1,510,379,127,618.35 ($1,510 Billion, or $1.510 Trillion)

By HIS OWN STANDARD, Barack H. Obama is much more irresponsible and unpatriotic than George W. Bush.

Nearly three times more irresponsible and unpatriotic!

ITguy on February 5, 2013 at 9:21 AM

Obama has also called for a larger debt deal that would reduce health care spending and close certain tax loopholes and deductions.

Watch our for this next “common sense” shell game.

onlineanalyst on February 5, 2013 at 9:38 AM

But the bill foreshadows another tough budget battle to come.

A tough battle waged by the miserable loser Crybaby in the House who sees his job as nothing but caving to the Indonesian and beating up on conservatives? Don’t make me laugh. This is pathetic. The GOP is pathetic. They are surrendering – pre-emptively – to the biggest losers and dumbest people on the planet. Well … to the second biggest losers and second dumbest people on the planet, I guess.

ThePrimordialOrderedPair on February 5, 2013 at 9:45 AM

But the bill foreshadows another tough budget battle to come.

BTW, when was the last “tough budget battle”? We haven’t had a budget the whole time the GOP has run the House (in addition to two years before) so what “tough budget battles” were there?

ThePrimordialOrderedPair on February 5, 2013 at 9:47 AM

Pay attention to Obysmal’s duplicity.
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/339808/obamas-duplicitous-additional-revenue-demands-patrick-brennan

onlineanalyst on February 5, 2013 at 10:02 AM

ITguy, you are simply wrong. Donkeys had a majority only for 2009-2010. After that, it is Boehner’s spending.

Since January 3, 2011, the spending problem belongs to Boehner and the GOP.

platypus on February 5, 2013 at 10:27 AM

Obama has also called for a larger debt deal that would reduce health care spending

LOL

That legislation has already passed the House, the Senate refused to even look at it.

It was the repeal of ObamaCare.

ButterflyDragon on February 5, 2013 at 10:28 AM

ITguy, you are simply wrong. Donkeys had a majority only for 2009-2010. After that, it is Boehner’s spending.

Since January 3, 2011, the spending problem belongs to Boehner and the GOP.

platypus on February 5, 2013 at 10:27 AM

I am correctly giving credit where credit is due.

Democrats have held majority control of Washington, D.C. (holding 2+ out of 3 of the House, Senate, and Presidency) continuously since January 3, 2007.

The FY 2002-2007 budgets were passed by Bush with a Republican majority.

The FY 2008 budget was passed by Bush with a Democrat majority.

The FY 2009 budget was passed by Obama with a Democrat majority.

There has not been a budget passed since, but spending approved prior to January 3, 2011 was the result of a Democrat House, Democrat Senate, and Obama, while spending since January 3, 2011 has been the result of a Republican House, Democrat Senate, and Obama… I.E., still a Democrat majority since the Democrats have controlled the Senate and Presidency.

You seem to want to blame it on the Republicans in the House, when they are only 1/3 of the equation and Democrats are 2/3 of the equation.

ITguy on February 5, 2013 at 10:47 AM

ITguy, you are simply wrong. Donkeys had a majority only for 2009-2010. After that, it is Boehner’s spending.

Since January 3, 2011, the spending problem belongs to Boehner and the GOP.

platypus on February 5, 2013 at 10:27 AM

I am correctly giving credit where credit is due.

Since January 3, 2011, the spending problem belongs to the combined effect of:
1) The Republican House led by John Boehner
2) The Democrat Senate led by Harry Reid
3) The Democrat pResident Obama

Democrats have held majority control of Washington, D.C. (holding 2+ of the House, Senate, and Presidency) continuously since January 3, 2007. The majority of blame for all spending since the end of FY 2007 belongs to the Democrats who have held majority control of the spending process.

ITguy on February 5, 2013 at 10:51 AM

Sorry for the repetitive comment. An error in my browser made it seem like my first comment didn’t post. Now I see it.

ITguy on February 5, 2013 at 10:53 AM

I need to see this from some other source than The Hill. I am not sure that the president Suspended the debt ceiling until August. I am sorry but financial dealings ought to be more correct than this.

I think the debt ceiling was raised by $450 billion, and I think if he does not work on spending cuts like the Sequester cuts or substitutes, which has been included in projections, he blows thru this money a lot faster.

Does WSJ have any details, does anyone have them?

Well, anyway, how about the wording on Suspending the debt ceiling, that is not correct either, right?

Fleuries on February 5, 2013 at 11:20 AM

ITguy on February 5, 2013 at 9:21 AM

Yes I would agree, “more irresponsible and unpatriotic,” by his own big mouth campaign definition.

Platypus: It’s Beohner’s spending.

The thing is, we are still operating on the Nancy Pelosi budget levels, Boehner’s budgets have not been acknowledged in the Senate by Harry Reid, and nothing has made it to the president’s desk since the republicans took over the House. So, Platy, how would you propose that a republican House budget get enacted?

Many conservatives don’t like that it looks like Boehner’s spending and we want them to just shut the government and spending down until it is solved, and the cuts are made. Tell everyone this summer they are not to make plans for the national park, so they won’t be on tv weeping.

Fleuries on February 5, 2013 at 11:26 AM