The House is ceiling-less

Since the birth of our nation, the cost of freedom has been defined by the many brave men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice. But with our economic freedom slipping out the back door as a result of our own bankrupt government borrowing from the very countries that threaten our economy, what freedoms will those brave men and women have left to defend? With the upcoming vote in the Congress to raise the debt ceiling, it’s time say “enough is enough.”

The debt ceiling of the United States is like the maximum amount on your credit card, and once again we find ourselves on the verge of “maxing out.” The debt ceiling was created in the same era as the income tax, 1917, and was originally set at $11.5 billion. Since March 1962, the debt ceiling has been raised 74 times, with 10 of those votes taking place since 2001, bringing it to $14.294 trillion, more than 1,200 times the amount of the original ceiling. When was the last time you raised the limit on your credit card 74 times?

{mosads}The result of our ceiling-less debt limit has been Congress after Congress and president after president taking a pass on tough spending decisions. Instead of adhering to the constitutionally defined role of the federal government, this fiscal insanity is placing us into massive debt and threatening our economic freedoms. With every dollar we borrow we trade another drop of our freedom for a false, short-term spending solution.

Until we break free from these spending chains, America’s economy will continue to be bound either to raising taxes on overburdened families and small businesses or to borrowing and weakening the U.S. dollar in order to pay our nation’s bills.

Last week, Standard & Poor’s put the U.S. government on notice that its credit rating could be downgraded because of the “very large budget deficits and rising government indebtedness, and the path to addressing these is not clear to us.” We can no longer afford to ignore the warnings. We must act to balance the federal budget and reduce our nation’s debt.

The new Congress in Washington, which pledged to listen to the American people, now has an opportunity to keep that trust and to oppose any rise in the debt ceiling unless it places us on a path to a balanced budget. 

Less than two weeks ago, a steadfast group of House Republicans took a tough, but important, stand and voted against a budget deal to fund government for the remainder of fiscal year 2011. The deal did not cut spending to the point where we can balance the budget, which is necessary to get our nation’s financial house in order. That group of 54 stands at the front of a movement in Congress that could take the long-needed hard stance on runaway federal spending. 

While President Obama and Democrats in Congress continue to borrow and spend, we know that this path is unsustainable. It’s this type of irresponsible borrowing — without real accountability — that has led to too many financial crises in this country and abroad. 

Republicans need to take real steps to free ourselves from the chains of uncontrollable spending and massive debt. What’s the point of having limits on spending and debt if all we’re going to do is ignore these limits? Last November, Americans sent a message to Congress to break free from the spending habits that have created the largest debt in our nation’s history. Now is the time to demand that we balance the federal budget instead of kicking the can down the road and allowing our country to face even greater threats to our economic freedom. 

After all, a ceiling-less House with no principled foundation will wash away the cornerstone of freedom in the world. 

Mack is a member of the Republican Study Committee.