Unable to reach a concession with Republicans over government funding, the White House is evaluating ways to handle the debt ceiling which if not raised by October 17 will force the government into default.
In the event that Congress is unable to raise the debt ceiling in time, many pressure the White House to consider invoking the 14th amendment to force the federal government to continue borrowing.
Greg Valliere, chief political strategist at Potomac Research, advises that “If a default is imminent, the option of raising the debt limit by executive fiat has to be on the table [...] Desperate times require desperate measures,” quotes The Washington Post.
The White House has firmly denied the President’s right to use the 14th amendment to bypass the debt ceiling. Unfortunately, the alternative is to cut government spending by a third, which would send the American economy plummeting.
Furthermore, negotiations between Republicans and Democrats to resume government operations are deadlocked on Obamacare. President Barack Obama told reporters he was willing to negotiate with Republicans after Congress passes legislation to reopen the government without defunding the Affordable Care Act, reports BBC News.
In The White House Weekly Address, Obama said “I will not negotiate over Congress’ responsibility to pay the bills it has already racked up. I don’t know how to be more clear about this: no one gets to threaten the full faith and credit of the United States of America just to extract ideological concessions.”