While the debt ceiling debate continues in Washington, a former congressman for our area is pushing both sides to reach a deal that takes the matter off the table during the presidential campaign.
Former Congressman Fred Upton is actively working with the group No Labels to launch a third-party presidential candidate because too often, partisan politics results in a lack of progress – and that includes deciding how much the nation can borrow, and how much it can spend.
Upton said the nation must not default and the whole issue needs to avoid the politics of the 2024 presidential campaign.
“We can’t just do a one year extension. We don’t want to go through this again next year — a presidential election year. It needs to be a two-year (extension),” said Upton.
Since the end of World War II, Congress has adjusted the debt limit 102 times. The nation’s debt is currently 31-trillion dollars.
According to the Congressional Research Service, most of the debt is due to Social Security, the Great Recession, COVID spending, and lower tax receipts.
