$300B Debt Ceiling Increased Sunday. Did YOU Know This? (Crickets.)
Late on Sunday U.S. Representative Justin Amash posted the following message to his Facebook page:
Congress voted to raise the debt ceiling by more than $300 billion this Sunday, May 19. Funny (or not), it didn’t even make the news.
A few months ago, Congress passed and the President signed into law the misleadingly titled No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013. I voted no.
As the law instructs, the debt ceiling was suspended until May 19 and then automatically raised by the amount of borrowing between the time of the bill’s signing and May 18—more than $300 billion. And, as the law’s fine print makes clear, every Member of Congress will continue to be paid, even though Congress still has no budget. Perhaps it should have been titled No Budget, Still Paid, Debt Limit Raised.
I want you to know what’s really going on in Congress. That’s why I use Facebook to explain every vote on the House floor. Thanks for liking and sharing my Page and my posts. Together, we’ll hold Congress accountable.
After all of the previous fanfare over debt ceiling increases, where was the parade of opinions over this most recent event?
True, Obama administration scandals abound in the news lately. From IRS targeting to Benghazi murders and AP records seizure, to name a few, but surely this piece of news should not go unnoticed. TheHill.com did produce an article on the issue, Extroardinary Measures Become Standard as US Hits Debt Limit Again, recapping some of the details and pushing a pro-raise the limit, no negotiation, blame Republicans perspective. It heavily references Treasury Secretary Jack Lew’s Friday letter to Congress regarding the debt limit issue and offering, “the White House’s initial offer in exchange for a debt-limit increase — no offer at all.” It also cites the many ways Lew plans to manipulate payments to push off the deadline for raising the ceiling.
Both those who agree with Amash’s votes as well as those who don’t, responded to Amash’s explanations for his votes on Facebook with great thankfulness. The idea of a Representative explaining his votes was applauded and calls were made for other Representatives to follow his lead on this. One commenter to Amash’s post writes, “Honestly Justin Amash i’m not a HUGE fan of yours but I’m a HUGE fan of you posting reasonings for your votes and wish more congressmen followed your lead.”
Government corruption has flowed through so many levels. The citizens of this country greatly thirst for the fresh voices of truth and transparency. America is calling out for leaders that will lead the charge against government corruption and throw out any that refuse to put principles before self-preservation and promotion.
The roll call for the vote on the bill that resulted in this increase can be found here: H R 325 Roll Call.
