Three Senate Democrats propose scrapping debt ceiling

WASHINGTON — Three Senate Democrats are pushing legislation to repeal the national debt ceiling following President Trump’s reported interest in the idea.

The senators say the “arbitrary" borrowing limit for the U.S. Treasury has no impact on government spending and restricts the Treasury from paying off its bills. Partisan fights over increasing the limit often lead to threats of defaulting on government debts, they say.

“Debt limit showdowns have become far too routine, and it's now considered almost normal to threaten default,” said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del. “That must change.”

Coons introduced the bill with Sens. Brian Schatz of Hawaii and Michael Bennet of Colorado.

President Trump sided with congressional Democrats earlier this month on a short-term plan to lift the nation’s debt limit and fund the federal government for three months along with providing aid for hurricane victims.

During that conversation, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he raised the subject of eliminating the debt ceiling.

“I said ‘This debt ceiling idea is not a great idea because we are only talking about paying the bills we have already incurred,’ ” the New York Democrat told USA TODAY. “ 'Why don't we just get rid of it permanently?’ And he said, ‘I like that idea.’ ”

They agreed to work together on legislation in December.

A day after the meeting, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., told reporters he opposes scrapping the debt ceiling.

“I think there's a legitimate role for the power of the purse Article 1 powers, and that's something that we defend here in Congress,” he said.