CSM - January 2011 - Republicans Repeal Gephardt Rule Leading To Debt Limit Crises

[TomCADem]

Unnoticed in January 2011 when Republicans took over the house was the waiver of what is known as the Gephardt rule. The repeal of this rule lead to ongoing series of debt limit crises. Of course, the media repeatedly fails to mention this when trying to push the false equivalency narrative that both Democrats and Republicans are at fault. Of course, one possible compromise would be to re-implement this rule as part of any debt limit extension. Sure, Republicans could claim credit for reinstituting the rule, but we would all know the truth.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2011/0104/Five-ways-Republicans-will-change-the-House/Repeal-of-the-Gephardt-rule

Repeal of the Gephardt rule

Congress established the first national debt limit in 1917 at $11.5 billion, setting up high-risk votes to increase the debt limit ever since.

In 1979, Rep. Richard Gephardt (D) of Missouri proposed setting the debt limit automatically at the level projected by the most recent budget resolution. The rule, still in effect, allows for the debt limit to be raised without the House having to take an unpopular stand-alone vote.

In 1995, then-majority House Republicans waived the Gephardt rule. They refused to raise the debt limit in a bid to force President Clinton to accept spending cuts – prompting two government shutdowns.

Republicans in that era eventually blinked. But many of the incoming freshmen Republicans campaigned against raising the debt limit and say that they welcome a faceoff with President Obama over cutting spending and reining in government.

[dkf]

1. This was Gephardt's way of avoiding an unpleasant task.

Back in 1979, the Democratic House Speaker, Tip O’Neill, handed the unhappy job of lining up votes for a debt-ceiling raise to Representative Richard Gephardt, then a young Democratic congressman from Missouri. Gephardt hated this, and, realizing he’d probably get stuck with it again, consulted the parliamentarian about whether the two votes could be combined. The parliamentarian said they could. Thereafter, whenever the House passed a budget resolution, the debt ceiling was “deemed” raised.

http://mobile.businessweek.com/articles/2013-10-07/how-to-solve-the-debt-ceiling-crisis-forever

[blkmusclmachine]

2. .

.