U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer recently introduced the USA AAA Credit Restoration Act, legislation that would establish a predictable and fair process for considering an increase in the debt limit in order to avoid the brinkmanship of this past summer, which nearly caused the first default in our nation’s history.
Senator Boxer said, “The unnecessary brinkmanship surrounding the debt ceiling debate this summer weakened our nation’s standing and led to Standard and Poor’s downgrade of America’s credit rating. This bill will bring sanity to future debt limit debates by laying out a clear, orderly process for raising the debt ceiling while allowing all voices to be heard.”
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Senator Boxer’s legislation would set clear timetables for the Administration to request a debt limit increase and for Congress to consider it. On the day the President submits his budget to Congress each year, the Treasury Secretary would be required to submit to Congress and print in the Federal Register the amount by which the debt limit must be increased for the following year. The Administration’s request would become law unless Congress voted to disapprove of the debt limit increase under an expedited procedure.
Senator Boxer noted that she’s discussed her proposal with other Senate colleagues who have been considering similar efforts to avoid another default crisis.
“The time for this legislation is now and I have been in contact with other colleagues who feel the same way,” Boxer said.
The measure is modeled on provisions in the Budget Control Act proposed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) earlier this year during the debate over the debt limit.