President Biden frames the GOP as “hostage takers,” but both parties have historically demanded new policies attached to debt limit increases.
President Biden portrays House Republicans as hostage-takers for demanding that deficit savings accompany any debt limit increase. He maintains that “clean” debt limit bills reflect typical Washington practice and that attaching new savings would set a dangerous new precedent that endangers future debt limit legislation.
The president is entitled to his policy preference. But his position is the one that actually represents the departure from Washington norms and precedents.
For decades, the debt limit served as a legitimate tool for both Republicans and Democrats to address budget deficits. Debt limit “showdowns” were relatively rare because both sides recognized the need to address the underlying debt. Indeed, of the eight largest deficit-reduction laws since 1985, all eight were attached to debt limit bills.
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Brian M. Riedl is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Follow him on Twitter here.
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