May 19, 2023

Progressive Senators Tell Biden: Prepare To Invoke 14th Amendment

Common Dreams - As negotiations with congressional Republicans over raising the debt ceiling drag on, at least five U.S. senators are circulating a letter that urges President Joe Biden to prepare to invoke the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, The Washington Post revealed. "Republicans have made it clear that they are prepared to hold our entire economy hostage unless you accede to their demands to reduce the deficit on the backs of working families. That is simply unacceptable," states the letter obtained by the Post.

"We write to urgently request that you prepare to exercise your authority under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution," the document adds. "Using this authority would allow the United States to continue to pay its bills on time, without delay, preventing a global economic catastrophe."... The 14th Amendment says in part that the validity of the public debt "shall not be questioned," and various legal scholars and members of Congress have recently made the case for invoking that language as the U.S. increasingly faces the possibility of a catastrophic default.

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