The Act, announced last week by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), is the GOP’s first attempt to bring Democrats and the Biden administration to the table after little movement in the previous three months. It would raise the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion, or until March 31, 2020, whichever comes first.
Several Republicans, notably Steve Bannon and Lou Dobbs, are warning that the Democrats are arranging for the stock market to collapse on the day House Republicans vote not to raise the debt ceiling. It is believed the Biden Administration will declare a temporary “default” on U.S. debt, the stock and bond markets will collapse, and Republicans will be blamed.
Top Republican legislators say they’ll use the federal debt ceiling to force President Biden to negotiate if they regain control of Congress, threatening to rekindle high-stakes brinkmanship that might drive the U.S. into default and create big new issues for the White House next year.