Biden Doesn’t Need Congress to Avoid a Debt-Ceiling Crisis

Amid the commotion over banks and the Federal Reserve, let’s not forget that the U.S. has a potential catastrophe hanging over its head: a debt crisis that could lead to default on U.S. government obligations. It may seem unthinkable, but the debt ceiling and a recalcitrant Congress have us heading in that direction.

The national debt ceiling is a numerical limit, set by law, on total U.S. government borrowing. Prior to a 1917 act of Congress, the Treasury needed congressional approval for every new issue of debt. World War I made that cumbersome, to say the least, so Congress switched to an overall limit on total borrowing—which has been raised numerous times since then.