US President Biden has been giving his take on the debt ceiling talks:
Biden also added he'd be open to considering using the 14 Amendment. Explainer:
The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted in 1868, and it contains several important provisions related to citizenship, due process, and equal protection under the law.
OK then. But wait, there's more.
Now, in the context of the debt ceiling, one particular provision of the 14th Amendment has been the subject of debate and controversy. That is Section 4 of the amendment, 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."
Some legal scholars have argued that this provision gives the president the authority to unilaterally raise the debt ceiling, without the need for congressional approval, in order to prevent default on the national debt. The argument goes that since the 14th Amendment explicitly prohibits questioning the validity of the public debt, any refusal to raise the debt ceiling would be unconstitutional. However, this interpretation of the 14th Amendment is not universally accepted, and it has never been tested in the courts.
In practice, the debt ceiling has always been raised through legislation passed by Congress and signed into law by the president. Ultimately, the question of whether the 14th Amendment can be used to bypass the debt ceiling remains a matter of legal and constitutional debate.
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