President Joe Biden has called for an increase in the debt ceiling. To avoid another fight with Congress on the issue ahead of the 2024 elections, he would need lawmakers to boost the current ceiling by roughly $2.5 trillion. This would allow for total debt of about $34 trillion, or 130% of the economy.
But Biden does not simply want a higher debt limit. He wants the limit to be “suspended” and unaccompanied by additional reforms. Congress should reject Biden’s bid and instead use the debt limit to strengthen the economy.
The debt limit was last suspended by Congress from August 2019 until July 2021. Over those 23 months, total federal debt increased by approximately $6.4 trillion, or $280 billion per month. That spending spree included COVID-19 relief under President Donald Trump and Biden’s $1.8 trillion “American Rescue Plan.” In July 2021, Congress fed the folly, raising the limit by about $3 trillion to help accommodate last year’s $1.7 trillion omnibus appropriations bill.
