(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Government employees' union sues Janet Yellen, asking her to ignore 'unconstitutional' debt ceiling [1]
['Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags', 'Showtags Popular_Tags']
Date: 2023-05-08
The case has been assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns, a Clinton appointee, the Associated Press reported. Stearns began his career working on Sen. George McGovern’s 1972 presidential campaign, and later became a special assistant to the South Dakota senator.
This lawsuit was filed with little fanfare while attention on the debt ceiling fight remains focused on Washington. Stearns is in a position to issue a temporary emergency injunction ordering Yellen to continue making payments even if the debt ceiling is reached.
The lawsuit cites the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1868, which states:
“The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned.”
On Friday, Biden said he is not yet ready to invoke the 14th Amendment to avoid the U.S. defaulting on its debts, which Yellen says could come as early as June 1. Biden is scheduled to meet Tuesday at the White House with the top Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate in an effort to resolve the debt ceiling impasse.
House Republicans, under Speaker Kevin McCarthy, passed a bill by the slimmest of margins that would raise the debt limit but also impose $4.8 trillion in spending cuts over the next 10 years. Biden wants the debt ceiling increased with no strings attached, arguing the House GOP bill would slash programs that millions of Americans depend on.
RELATED STORY: Republicans lock arms to take us over a financial cliff
The White House says a debt default would result in “severe damage to the economy” with a potential loss of 8 million jobs and a 6.1% drop in GDP.
In a press release announcing the lawsuit, National Association of Government Employees President David J. Holway said the “litigation is both an effort to protect our members from illegal furloughs and to correct an unconstitutional statute that frequently creates uncertainty and anxiety for millions of Americans.” Holway added:
"The Debt Ceiling has become a political football for certain members of Congress. If Congress will not raise the Debt Limit as it has nearly 80 times before without condition, it leaves no constitutional choice for the President." "Congress's failure of will to act is not justification to violate the Constitution. But it is the reason this case had to be filed to protect the American public, federal employees, and our Constitution."
The lawsuit says the National Association of Government Employees is seeking an order declaring the Debt Limit Statute unconstitutional and unenforceable. It states:
“Nothing in the Constitution or any judicial decision interpreting the Constitution, allows Congress to leave unchecked discretion to the President to exercise the spending power vested in the legislative branch by canceling, suspending, or refusing to carry out spending already approved by Congress.”
The union’s press release stated:
As described in the complaint, pursuant to the Fourteenth Amendment, the President must ensure the federal government does not default on its debt. Should the debt limit be reached, the President still must find the funds to meet its obligations to holders of the public debt, either through borrowing or by cutting spending enough to meet debt payments. However, cutting programs that have been authorized and funded by Congress is not an authority available to the President. The complaint alleges that the Debt Limit Statute is unconstitutional because it puts the President in a quandary, as it would require him to exercise discretion in deciding which programs Congress has authorized should continue being funded and which programs should not. The Constitution requires that funding appropriations be determined by Congress, not the President.
The lawsuit seeks suspension of the debt ceiling statute “until Congress determines the priorities and order of payments that the President should take, in order to meet the limit set on total indebtedness.” “Until Congress revises the Debt Limit Statute to give such guidance, there is no constitutional means by which the President can comply with it,” the press release said. In an article in The American Prospect by Jonathan Zasloff, a professor of law at the UCLA School of Law, Zasloff proposed suing Yellen on the grounds that the debt ceiling is unconstitutional and Treasury should continue to make debt payments. to make it easier to finance mobilization efforts in World War I. But its constitutionality was never really tested in court because the debt ceiling was routinely raised under both Democratic and Republican administrations. That changed in 1995 when the new Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich first weaponized it, and the situation has only worsened with the growing influence of nihilistic MAGA Republicans. The debt ceiling was first established by Congress in 1917 to make it easier to finance mobilization efforts in World War I. But its constitutionality was never really tested in court because the debt ceiling was routinely raised under both Democratic and Republican administrations. That changed in 1995 when the new Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich first weaponized it, and the situation has only worsened with the growing influence of nihilistic MAGA Republicans. that could allow them to bypass the chamber’s Republican leadership to force a floor vote on a clean debt ceiling raise, but they would need support from at least five GOP representatives. House Democrats have also begun the discharge petition process that could allow them to bypass the chamber’s Republican leadership to force a floor vote on a clean debt ceiling raise, but they would need support from at least five GOP representatives.
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/5/8/2168292/-Government-employees-union-sues-Janet-Yellen-asking-her-to-ignore-unconstitutional-debt-ceiling
Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/
