Can Joe Biden use the 14th Amendment to raise the debt ceiling?
Shared By Peter Boykin – American Political Commentator / Citizen Journalist
Can Joe Biden use the 14th Amendment to raise the debt ceiling?
The U.S. is roughly weeks away from hitting our ‘debt ceiling’ [the limit on the amount of debt the federal government can accumulate]. As House Republicans demand a commitment to lower spending in exchange for raising the limit, Joe Biden is reportedly considering using the 14th Amendment to raise it himself, without a vote from Congress.
Here’s the $31.4 trillion question: Does the 14th Amendment give the President the power to raise the nation’s debt limit unilaterally, without approval from the legislative branch?
Let’s ask Barack Obama: Here’s what his Press Secretary, Jay Carney told reporters back in 2013 when asked if the 44th President would use the 14th Amendment:
“This administration does not believe that the 14th Amendment gives the power to the President to ignore the debt ceiling.”
Biden seems to disagree with Obama as he told reporters: “I’m looking at the 14th Amendment… I think we have the authority.”
History of the 14th Amendment: It was passed in 1868 following the end of the Civil War, giving citizenship to former slaves and guaranteeing them “equal protection of the laws.”
Buried in Section 4 of the amendment, there’s an obscure line that says: “The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law… shall not be questioned.”
The purpose of Section 4 was to deal with debts incurred during the Civil War.
No, Joe can’t raise the debt ceiling: Even if you ignore that the amendment was meant to deal with Civil War debts, all you have to do is scroll down to Section 5 to debunk any idea that Biden has the authority to raise the debt ceiling.
It says:
“The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.”
I’m no constitutional scholar, but I think the text speaks for itself.
[Source: WSJ, Constitution Center, Reuters]
https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/amendments/amendment-xiv
