# News Debt limit Vote

#### DivingMullah

Debt limit Vote....

The House of Representatives will vote on increasing the nation’s debt limit. Presumably, this will spur conservatives and deficit peacocks to claim that the President Obama has gone on some kind of spending binge and has run up tons and tons of new debt. Despite these claims, the truth is that only a tiny fraction of our current debt burden is due to actions taken by President Obama.

On the day President Obama was inaugurated, publicly held debt was $6.3 trillion. Today it is$7.8 trillion. But, of course, pinning that entire $1.5 trillion increase on President Obama would be incredibly dishonest since Obama was handed a massive budget shortfall. After all, the Congressional Budget Office was projecting a deficit of$1.2 trillion for fiscal year 2009 even before Obama was sworn in. To blame the current administration for all the new debt accrued last year is to deliberately ignore that inconvenient fact.

But it is also true that President Obama did take actions that increased the deficit and therefore incurred additional debt. President Obama signed a 2009 omnibus appropriations act that increased non-defense discretionary spending by about $30 billion (with more than a third of that increase going to veterans’ health programs and international affairs), and a defense budget that increased spending by about$36 billion.

He also signed a reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program which increased spending by $1 billion. And of course, he supported and signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment act which resulted in$112 billion in additional spending, and $88 billion in tax cuts. All together, President Obama’s actions led to$267 billion worth of new debt in fiscal year 2009.

On October 1, 2009, fiscal year 2010 started, and since then we’ve amassed another $300 billion in debt. While it is probably unfair to ascribe even all of this debt to President Obama (given the economic conditions and the lingering budgetary damage from the Bush administration), for simplicity’s sake, let’s go ahead and do so anyway. All together then, President Obama is responsible for less than$600 billion of our current tally of publicly held debt. That’s less than 8 percent of the total.

It’s worth noting that a much larger percentage of our current debt was run up under President Bush. During his eight years in office, publicly held debt went from $3.3 trillion at the start of fiscal year 2002 (his first full fiscal year in office) to$6.3 trillion on the day he left office. That $3 trillion was the largest increase in publicly held debt under a single President in the history of the United States, and accounts for nearly 40 percent of our current total. That’s why it’s the very definition of peacockery for Republican Senators to vote against raising the debt limit (as 39 of them did last week) claiming to be all for fiscal discipline, when it was a Republican president who got us here. Diving Mullah Related General Discussion News on Phys.org #### Brian_C Re: Debt limit Vote.... Democrats were in control of Congress for four of Bush's eight years. Last time I checked, they're the ones who approve the budget. #### russ_watters Mentor Re: Debt limit Vote.... All together then, President Obama is responsible for less than$600 billion of our current tally of publicly held debt. That’s less than 8 percent of the total.
Do you find it at all disturbing that he's done that in just a year and a month? And what do you think about his debt projections moving forward?

#### Gokul43201

Staff Emeritus
Gold Member
Re: Debt limit Vote....

Democrats were in control of Congress for four of Bush's eight years.
Sure, if 2=4

#### DivingMullah

Re: Debt limit Vote....

Democrats were in control of Congress for four of Bush's eight years. Last time I checked, they're the ones who approve the budget.
First of all congress swing back to Dems in 2006 not in 2004, secondly two out of three branches of government was still being controlled by Republicans....

Please point to the expenditures that were passed by Democrats and not vetoed by President Bush. Democrats did not have the 67 majority to be veto proof.

The single most important factor is the legacy of President George W. Bush’s legislative agenda. Overall, changes in federal law during the Bush administration are responsible for 40 percent of the short-term fiscal problem. For example, we estimate that the tax cuts passed during the Bush presidency are reducing government revenue collections by $231 billion in 2009. Also, because of the additions to the federal debt due to Bush administration policies, the government will be paying$218 billion more in interest payments in 2009.

Had President Bush not cut taxes while simultaneously prosecuting two foreign wars and adopting other programs without paying for them, the current deficit would be only 4.7 percent of gross domestic product this year, instead of the eye-catching 11.2 percent—despite the weak economy and the costly efforts taken to restore it. In 2010, the deficit would be 3.2 percent instead of 9.6 percent.

Three times each year, the Congressional budget office releases revised estimates of its budget projections going forward 10 years. In each of these revisions, the CBO describes how its current estimate has changed from its previous estimate, and why. By studying these estimates, we can attribute the change in the federal bottom line to various factors: specific legislative policies, changing economic conditions, and technical modifications.

Specifically, in January of 2001, just as President George W. Bush was taking office, the Congressional Budget Office projected that in fiscal year 2009, the federal budget would enjoy a $710 billion surplus. Today the Congressional Budget Office says that the budget will have a$1.6 trillion deficit, a swing of $2.3 trillion. This had nothing to do with the Congress but rather irresponsible spending by the previous adminstration. Sorry but numbers do not support your argument. Diving Mullah #### WhoWee Re: Debt limit Vote.... The House of Representatives will vote on increasing the nation’s debt limit. Presumably, this will spur conservatives and deficit peacocks to claim that the President Obama has gone on some kind of spending binge and has run up tons and tons of new debt. Despite these claims, the truth is that only a tiny fraction of our current debt burden is due to actions taken by President Obama. On the day President Obama was inaugurated, publicly held debt was$6.3 trillion. Today it is $7.8 trillion. But, of course, pinning that entire$1.5 trillion increase on President Obama would be incredibly dishonest since Obama was handed a massive budget shortfall. After all, the Congressional Budget Office was projecting a deficit of $1.2 trillion for fiscal year 2009 even before Obama was sworn in. To blame the current administration for all the new debt accrued last year is to deliberately ignore that inconvenient fact. But it is also true that President Obama did take actions that increased the deficit and therefore incurred additional debt. President Obama signed a 2009 omnibus appropriations act that increased non-defense discretionary spending by about$30 billion (with more than a third of that increase going to veterans’ health programs and international affairs), and a defense budget that increased spending by about $36 billion. He also signed a reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program which increased spending by$1 billion. And of course, he supported and signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment act which resulted in $112 billion in additional spending, and$88 billion in tax cuts. All together, President Obama’s actions led to $267 billion worth of new debt in fiscal year 2009. On October 1, 2009, fiscal year 2010 started, and since then we’ve amassed another$300 billion in debt. While it is probably unfair to ascribe even all of this debt to President Obama (given the economic conditions and the lingering budgetary damage from the Bush administration), for simplicity’s sake, let’s go ahead and do so anyway. All together then, President Obama is responsible for less than $600 billion of our current tally of publicly held debt. That’s less than 8 percent of the total. It’s worth noting that a much larger percentage of our current debt was run up under President Bush. During his eight years in office, publicly held debt went from$3.3 trillion at the start of fiscal year 2002 (his first full fiscal year in office) to $6.3 trillion on the day he left office. That$3 trillion was the largest increase in publicly held debt under a single President in the history of the United States, and accounts for nearly 40 percent of our current total.

That’s why it’s the very definition of peacockery for Republican Senators to vote against raising the debt limit (as 39 of them did last week) claiming to be all for fiscal discipline, when it was a Republican president who got us here.

Diving Mullah
Diving Mullah, let me be the first to welcome you to the PF. Please take note of the Rules and make sure you support all of your posts.

#### DrClapeyron

Debt limit Vote = Spending more

Peanuts. The USofA does not suddenly change because it has a new president. Same old song and dance.

#### Brian_C

Re: Debt limit Vote....

Sure, if 2=4
Jim Jeffords left the Republican Party in May 2001, giving Democrats control of the Senate until January of 2003. You act like the Republicans had total control until 2006, which isn't true.

#### zomgwtf

Re: Debt limit Vote....

Do you find it at all disturbing that he's done that in just a year and a month?
Why does this matter at all???

#### Gokul43201

Staff Emeritus
Gold Member
Re: Debt limit Vote....

You act like the Republicans had total control until 2006, which isn't true.
"Act like"? What does that even mean?

I never stated that Republicans had total control until 2006. I only disputed your assertion that the Dems had control over Congress for 4 years. They didn't; they had control for 2 years.

#### Gokul43201

Staff Emeritus
Gold Member
Re: Debt limit Vote....

DM, there are a whole lot of numbers in the OP. You should make it a practice to provide citations for them (starting now), so we know you are not pulling them out of the air, and also so we can independently verify them if we so wish.

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#### mheslep

Gold Member
Re: Debt limit Vote....

Columnist Jonah Goldberg's response to the charge that Republicans are hypocrites for suddenly caring about deficits (paraphrasing the OP)
Goldberg said:
Well, maybe. But then so are liberals for suddenly not caring about deficits. (That part always gets left out.)
In addition to increasing the debt to \$7.8 trillion over the fiscal year 2009, the CBO shows the Presidents's fiscal plan will continue to increase the debt in absolute terms to http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/110xx/doc...r_Senate.shtml" [Broken]

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Gold Member