Some Republicans say GOP miscalculated on debt ceiling last year

This left some Republicans fuming on the floor Wednesday for giving Obama full control over the issue.

“We have in effect given the president of the United States the ability to raise the debt ceiling without … having any control whatsoever, and that’s just wrong,” Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) said.

{mosads}“We should never have passed the Budget Control Act the way we did. This body should always have the ability to stop raising the debt ceiling.”

Burton added that Obama now has more power than any modern president has ever had.

“He’s making appointments without advice and consent of the United States Senate, he’s able to raise the debt ceiling without us being able to do a darn thing about it,” he said. “It’s just wrong, and this body made a big mistake when we put that provision in the Budget Control Act.”

Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) agreed, and said Obama now has control at the worst possible time — when the federal debt has exceeded annual U.S. GDP.

“We just basically handed the president, at a time when we have crossed that threshold — $15 trillion of debt, more than our GDP… which puts us up there with Greece — we have now handed the president a gift of another spending of $1.2 trillion,” Fleming said.

The House approved the Budget Control Act last July, but with 22 Republicans voting against it. At the time, giving Obama the authority to raise the debt ceiling was seen by some Republicans as an acceptable way forward given that it might shift any blame for these increases from Congress to the White House.

Initial debate on the House resolution of disapproval was in the context of the rule for that resolution. That debate was followed by a voice vote in favor of the rule, which sets up debate on the resolution itself Wednesday afternoon.

— This story was updated at 2 p.m. to reflect the rule vote.