Minnesota delegation divided as House votes to lift debt limit and delay fight

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House voted Wednesday to defer a debate over the federal debt limit, defusing one potentially explosive fight over government finances while taking on a couple of more.

The House passed its so-called “No Budget No Pay” plan on Wednesday, lifting the federal limit on debt until mid-May and conditioning congressional pay on the passage of a 2014 budget plan.

Senate Democratic leaders said they would pass the bill once it reaches their chamber, and the White House has said President Obama will sign it.

Michele Bachmann, long an opponent of raising the federal borrowing limit, was the only Minnesota Republican to vote against the bill. Minnesota Democrats splintered along familiar lines: liberals Betty McCollum and Keith Ellison voted against it, while Rick Nolan and moderates Collin Peterson and Tim Walz voted for the bill.

The legislation does not increase the $16.4 trillionlimit on federal debt, and thus does not contain the dollar-for-dollar cuts Republicans have long wanted in conjunction with a debt limit increase. Instead, it suspends the limit until May and, starting in mid-April, would defer pay to representatives and senators until their chamber passes a non-binding budget resolution.

The United States hit its debt limit at the end of 2012. A vote to raise the debt limit is not a vote to increase government spending but, rather, to authorize federal borrowing to pay for spending Congress has already approved.

REUTERS/Jason Reed

Rep. Michele Bachmann

In a statement, Bachmann said she voted against the bill because, "giving the President four months of unlimited borrowing authority without a cap on spending is something I cannot support. Adding to the debt burden of future generations will only exacerbate the problem."

The plan was pushed by Republican leadership, who lost  33 conservative votes like Bachmann's. Eighty-six Democrats voted for the bill. It passed 285-144.

The Democrats’ liberal-moderate rift was evident in Wednesday’s vote. Liberals like Ellison said voting for the bill gave Republicans the opportunity to hold up the nation’s borrowing limit again in the future while demanding cuts that liberals don’t find palatable.

Rep. Keith Ellison

“It’s like, ‘Let’s get back on the hostage-taking merry-go-round,’ ” Ellison said. “These are the people that say, stop creating the uncertainty. They are creating the uncertainty, lack of finality that they criticize.”

In a statement, McCollum said the bill, "does nothing to provide certainty and stability for middle class families, businesses, or the financial markets. Congress needs to act to pass a responsible debt limit increase and put an end to the legislative gimmicks and games that are being played by House Republicans.”

Walz, though, said he voted for the bill for the sake of preventing the type of default crisis Congress encountered during the last debt ceiling debate in 2011.

“I don’t think we should be messing in any way with the debt ceiling,” he said. “I think we should be talking long-term changes and a long-term big deal on both revenue and spending and with that being the case, this is what was put before us.”

Senate will vote to approve the bill

President Obama gave congressional Democrats a bit of cover on Tuesday when the White House came out in favor of the Republican bill. Senate Democratic leadership said on Wednesday they’ll vote to approve the bill when it comes to their chamber.

“To spare the middle class another knock-down, drag-out fight, the Senate will proceed to and seek to pass the House bill,” Majority Leader Harry Reid said in a statement. “We will seek an agreement with Republicans to bring the bill to the floor in the coming days.”

Temporarily lifting the debt limit essentially means Congress will fight three fiscal battles until the nation’s borrowing allowance is again brought to the fore. Sequestration, the $1.2 trillion in 10-year defense and discretionary spending cuts lawmakers delayed during the fiscal cliff debate, kick in on March 1, absent congressional action. Then, in late March, a temporary 2013 federal budget expires, meaning lawmakers will have to either extend current funding levels, pass a new  budget for the remainder of the fiscal year (through September) or risk a government shutdown.

If lawmakers want to get paid on time, both chambers must pass a non-binding 2014 budget resolution outlying budget priorities before April 15 (though if lawmakers do not, their pay won’t disappear; it’ll be set aside and distributed to them when either they pass a budget or the current Congress ends). Republicans in the House have long hammered Senate Democrats’ failure to pass such a resolution, something it hasn’t done since 2009. Senate leadership said Wednesday they’ll work to pass one this session.

So, to summarize, Congress’ upcoming docket looks like this:

• In February, deal with massive federal spending cuts or let them take effect on March 1;
• In March, pass a budget for the rest of 2012, or risk a government shutdown on March 27;
• In April, pass 2014 budget resolutions before April 15, or not get paid;
• In May, raise the federal debt limit, or risk a default after May 19.

Of the workload, Walz said, “I think what the president said: We will debate forever some of those fundamental questions, but basic governance has to get done.”

Devin Henry can be reached at dhenry@minnpost.com. Follow him on Twitter: @dhenry