Summary
"The last few weeks have been filled with debate, accusations, stalemate and false claims about the debt ceiling and how — and whether — it should be raised. As the Aug. 2 default deadline looms, here's a look at the less-than-factual talking points we've addressed.
Republicans constantly repeat that President Obama is demanding a "blank check," when in fact he's seeking borrowing authority to pay obligations already approved by Congress — and has said he'd accept deep spending cuts to get approval of that authority. For his part, the president has said raising the debt limit has been "routine" for every president since the 1950s. True, but his request is anything but routine; it would be the largest increase in history, in inflation-adjusted dollars.
Some in the GOP have claimed that the government could continue to make interest payments on the debt and avoid default, even without borrowing any more. But to do that, the government would have to cut all non-interest spending by 34 percent next fiscal year to make ends meet. And if some programs (like Social Security or Medicare) were cut less, others would have to be cut even more deeply.
Read on to the Analysis for more on these claims and others from the debt-limit debate.
Analysis
Will Congress agree on a way to raise the debt limit before Treasury says the government can't pay all of its obligations? We only wish we could predict the future. But we can give a rundown of the misleading and false claims that have fueled the long, partisan debate.
What's a Blank Check?
Republicans, including House Speaker John Boehner and Rep. Michele Bachmann, have said that the president wants "a blank check." Not true. First, he's asking to borrow money to pay obligations Congress has already approved. Second, Obama has proposed cutting spending by between $1.5 trillion and $1.7 trillion over 10 years in exchange for increasing the borrowing limit.
Boehner said in his July 25 speech that the president "wants a blank check today." At a July 28 appearance at the National Press Club, presidential candidate Bachmann said that "President Obama has asked for a $2.4 trillion blank check to get himself through the election in 2012." The conservative group Crossroads GPS also has made "no more blank checks" the theme of a major ad campaign.
We're a little perplexed by this popular talking point. A "blank check" would be authorization for unlimited spending. But Obama has been seeking, as Bachmann mentioned, a $2.4 trillion increase in the debt limit, according to various reports — that's a lot of money, but not a blank check.
Plus, as we mentioned, the president has proposed well more than a trillion in spending cuts, according to White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, as well as tax increases to raise revenue. That's not a $2.4 trillion check with no strings attached. Republicans haven't agreed with what the president has supported to reduce the deficit, but it's false to characterize his proposals as a 'blank check.'"
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