WASHINGTON, March 13 (UPI) -- Republicans, having lost the majority in the U.S. Congress, are expected to take on the old Democratic role of hammering the majority on the debt limit.
Democrats, who in the past criticized the Republicans for raising the federal debt limit ceiling, must now move to prevent the government from defaulting on its obligations, The Hill reports. The Bush administration expects to hit the current limit -- almost $9 trillion -- this fall.
"The debt limit vote always becomes a carnival for the opposition party," said Brian Riedl, a budget analyst for the Heritage Foundation. "The opposition always uses the vote to bludgeon the majority, and this year will be no different."
Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., the chair of the Finance Committee, and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the ranking minority member, have suggested using the reconciliation process between the two houses of Congress to raise the debt ceiling. That would bar Republicans from using a filibuster or the threat of one during the process.
