Continuing Resolution? We have heard the term “Continuing Resolution” used for the last couple of years, but few, including our U.S. Congress Members, realize what it actually means. I am going to set the record straight. It means Congress continues to suspend the Debt Ceiling limit set in Public Law, specifically Section 3101(b) of title 31, United States Code. That piece of code is very specific, and it is “(b) The face amount of obligations issued under this chapter and the face amount of obligations whose principal and interest are guaranteed by the United States Government (except guaranteed obligations held by the Secretary of the Treasury) may not be more than $14,294,000,000,000 outstanding at one time, subject to changes periodically made in that amount as provided by law through the congressional budget process described in Rule XLIX [1] of the Rules of the House of Representatives or as provided by section 3101A or otherwise.” (31 USC § 3101 - Public debt limit) Did you notice our legal Debt Ceiling Limit is $14,294,000,000,000, or simply $14.294-trillion. It appears that Congress has not amended the U.S. Code to reflect the increased debt we really have. Congress gets away with this by suspending the restrictions of Section 3101(b) of title 31, United States Code and they suspend it for s specific period of time. During the suspension Congress appropriates money it doesn’t have, without limitations, and the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to borrow that amount to pay the bills. Whatever the Treasury Secretary had to borrow to pay those bills incurred during the suspension becomes the new Debt Ceiling, without officially changing Section 3101(b) of title 31, United States Code. This has been done twice this year. The first time was with HR 325, called the “No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013,” which became the Law of the Land when President Obama signed the Bill on 4 Feb 2013. Here is Section 2 of that bill; SEC. 2. TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF DEBT CEILING. (a) Suspension- Section 3101(b) of title 31, United States Code, shall not apply for the period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act and ending on May 18, 2013. (b) Special Rule Relating to Obligations Issued During Suspension Period- Effective May 19, 2013, the limitation in section 3101(b) of title 31, United States Code, as increased by section 3101A of such title, is increased to the extent that-- (1) the face amount of obligations issued under chapter 31 of such title and the face amount of obligations whose principal and interest are guaranteed by the United States Government (except guaranteed obligations held by the Secretary of the Treasury) outstanding on May 19, 2013, exceeds (2) the face amount of such obligations outstanding on the date of the enactment of this Act. An obligation shall not be taken into account under paragraph (1) unless the issuance of such obligation was necessary to fund a commitment incurred by the Federal Government that required payment before May 19, 2013.” (thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/C?c113:./temp/~c113qCHYkT) That means between 4 Feb 2013 and 19 May 2013 Congress could spend as much as it wanted, and, then on May 19 the spending spree was over. The second time Section 3101(b) of title 31, United States Code was suspended was on 17 Oct 2013, when President Obama signed HR 2775 (Default Prevention Act of 2013) into law. Here is Section 1002 paragraph 3 of that bill; (c) Suspension- (1) IN GENERAL- Section 3101(b) of title 31, United States Code, shall not apply for the period beginning on the date on which the President submits to Congress a certification under subsection (b) and ending on February 7, 2014. (2) SPECIAL RULE RELATING TO OBLIGATIONS ISSUED DURING SUSPENSION PERIOD- Effective February 8, 2014, the limitation in section 3101(b) of title 31, United States Code, as increased by section 3101A of such title and section 2 of the No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013 (31 U.S.C. 3101 note), is increased to the extent that-- (A) the face amount of obligations issued under chapter 31 of such title and the face amount of obligations whose principal and interest are guaranteed by the United States Government (except guaranteed obligations held by the Secretary of the Treasury) outstanding on February 8, 2014, exceeds (B) the face amount of such obligations outstanding on the date of enactment of this Act. An obligation shall not be taken into account under subparagraph (A) unless the issuance of such obligation was necessary to fund a commitment incurred by the Federal Government that required payment before February 8, 2014.” (thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/C?c113:./temp/~c113SRvWXk) The Debt Ceiling, different than the legal debt limit specified in Section 3101(b) of title 31, United States Code, was at $16.7-trillion on 16 Oct 2013. Congress can again have a spending spree between 17 Oct 2013 and 7 Feb 2014, without worrying about any legal limitations. The Treasury Secretary will pay for Congress obligations between 17 Oct 2013 and 7 Feb 2014, which will become the new non-legal Debt Ceiling Limit. Continuing Resolution, therefore, means Congress can continue to spend without worrying about exceeding any legal limitations, because the legal limitations have been suspended. That, my friends, is your Republicans and Democrats working together to avoid the ‘intent of the law’ by systematically working around the ‘letter of the law.’ I call the repulsive, reprehensible Republicans and disingenuous, dishonest Democrats, who both have complete control of the U.S. Congress (constitutional definition), the ‘Mainstream Manipulator Maniacs’ of the worst kind. We might as well call the Republicans and Democrats the ‘Republa-Crats,’ because there is no difference between the two. I would rather see people in Congress that stand by what they say and say what they stand for, rather than Republicans and Democrats that say one thing publically and do something entirely different behind closed doors. It is not the TEA Party that is holding our government hostage, it is the Republa-Crats. We may not agree with the TEA Party tenants, but, at least we know what their tenants are. Nothing will ever change the way Congress does business as long as the Republa-Crats have the majority in Congress. The Republa-Crats were voted into office and they should be voted out of office until not one Republa-Crat is left sitting in a seat in the Halls of Congress.
Posted on: Sun, 20 Oct 2013 12:55:28 +0000
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