Debt ceiling vote could save America if House Republicans are willing to stand up to Democrats

Of all the reforms in House rules secured by the conservative rabblerousers last week, arguably the most momentous was the promise that Republicans will not pass any debt ceiling increase until substantial budget process reforms and spending cuts are secured. 

The need for such a rule would seem self-evident. The debt has risen by some $4 trillion in just two years. Government borrowing last year hit 13 figures, or $1.4 trillion. Absent budget reforms, we could easily see a decade ahead with another $10 trillion added to the debt. And don’t forget, every one-percentage point rise in interest rates by the Fed raises the debt by well more than a trillion dollars over the next decade. 

So, budget hawks and those concerned about our national debt should be applauding this commitment. 

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Hardly. Instead, President Joe Biden, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the entire Washington special interest community, are collectively sounding a primal scream that we will have economic Armageddon if there is even a hint of the debt limit expiring this summer. The New York Times hyperventilated earlier that "Breaching the debt limit would lead to a first-ever default for the United States, creating financial chaos in the global economy. It would also force American officials to choose between continuing assistance like Social Security checks and paying interest on the country’s debt." 

This is upside-down logic. The nation’s good credit standing in the global capital markets isn’t imperiled by not passing a debt ceiling. The much-bigger danger is that Congress does extend the debt ceiling, but without any reforms in the way Congress grossly overspends.

We just experienced one painful repercussion of runaway government spending and debt over the past year: The runaway inflation that climbed to a 40-year high – costing the average American family nearly $4,000 in a loss of real take home pay. 
 
The government’s addiction to red ink isn’t due to insufficient tax collections. The Congressional Budget Office just reported this week that in 2022 the United States government raked in a record $4.9 trillion from Americans. As a share of our GDP that was very close to an all-time record high.

Yet Biden and the Democrats in Congress say they want a "clean" debt ceiling bill – with no conditions attached.

To that, Republicans should say "no deal." The experience of the last 40 years shows definitively that the only time fiscal conservatives have secured major spending reform concessions from Democrats as a condition for raising the debt ceiling. These are "come-to-Jesus moments" for fiscal discipline. 

In 1985, the Gramm-Rudman deficit ceilings were enacted as part of the debt bill; that put congressional spending on a diet. In 1996 congressional Republicans and Democratic president signed an historic budget agreement on the eve of a debt-ceiling vote. Three years later the budget was balanced for three straight years – the only time we haven’t run a deficit in the last 50 years. Then in 2011, House Republicans leveraged the debt-ceiling vote to win approval from President Barack Obama for the Budget Control Act, which included automatic spending cuts, and brought the deficit way down.

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The lesson is clear: if we are to make any progress on reducing the debt crisis, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy must use the debt ceiling vote as the bargaining chip to secure spending reductions and reforms. 

This is lambasted by the inside-the-Beltway crowd as grossly irresponsible – as holding the country hostage. Wait. If a business owner is many millions of dollars in debt and goes to the bank for a loan or a credit card extension, the bank will rightly say: what’s your financial plan for getting out of debt? If there isn’t a plan, they’ll punt the owner into the street with no loan and no credit card extension.

We all hope it doesn’t come to this, but If for some reason bullheaded Democrats refuse to budge and the debt ceiling is not raised in time, this doesn’t cause a debt default. Rather, it immediately prohibits Congress from borrowing more money. It can still spend the tax money that comes into the Treasury each day – but not a penny more. Republicans are working on a contingency plan that ensures the debt payments are met and Social Security checks go out as the top priority. But other low-priority programs – like the Department of Education, foreign aid, energy programs, etc. will shut down until a deal is made. There is no default – unless Biden’s Treasury Department allows a default. 

Republicans in the House can make the case that almost all of the increase in the debt over the past two years is because Biden and congressional Democrats ran up the debt by spending $4 trillion we don’t have – most of that spending happened with few if any Republican votes. The Democrats own this debt increase.

But if Republicans agree to go-along-to-get-along by raising the debt ceiling without any concessions from Democrats, they will be aiding and abetting Biden’s big-government socialism agenda. And that, ladies and gentlemen, would be the biggest financial crisis for America of all. 

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Shinzo Abe assassination: Suspect charged with murder in fatal shooting of Japan's former prime minister

Prosecutors in Japan have formally charged the man suspected of assassinating former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with murder.

The suspect, Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, was arrested right after he allegedly shot Abe with a homemade gun, as the former leader was making a campaign speech in July outside a train station in Nara in western Japan.

Yamagami underwent a nearly six-month mental evaluation, which ended Tuesday. He was found fit to stand trial, according to prosecutors.

Yamagami was also charged with violating a gun control law, according to the Nara District Court.

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Police have said Yamagami told them that he killed Abe, one of Japan’s most influential and divisive politicians, because of Abe’s apparent links to a religious group that he hated. 

In his statements and in social media postings attributed to him, Yamagami said he developed a grudge because his mother had made massive donations to the Unification Church that bankrupted his family and ruined his life.

A lawyer for Yamagami told the Associated Press that it will likely be several months before his trial begins due to the complexity of the case.

Police are also reportedly considering adding several allegations, including weapons production, violation to explosives control law and causing damage to buildings.

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Some Japanese have expressed sympathy for Yamagami, especially those who also suffered as children of followers of the South Korea-based Unification Church, which is known for pressuring adherents into making big donations and is considered a cult in Japan.

Thousands of people have signed a petition requesting leniency for Yamagami, and others have sent care packages to his relatives or the detention center.

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Abe's assassination sent shockwaves throughout Japan and the world. The dramatic shooting was caught on video.

Abe was shot about two minutes and 20 seconds into his speech, according to Japanese news outlet NHK. 

Video captured prior to the shooting purportedly shows Yamagami scanning his surroundings while standing near a footpath behind Abe. 

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He then takes something out of a bag he was carrying and walks slowly toward Abe, coming several yards away from him, before raising the gun and opening fire, the station added.

Abe was Japan's longest-serving prime minister. He served from 2006 to 2007 and again in 2012 until he resigned in 2020 after his ulcerative colitis, a chronic condition, resurfaced, calling his decision at the time "gut-wrenching."

During his term, he focused on the economy, rebuilding Japan's military and being a larger player in international affairs. 

The Associated Press, Fox News' Brie Stimson and Greg Norman contributed to this report.

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