Congressional Black Caucus urges Obama to use 14th Amendment debt limit fix (The Hill)

[chill_wind]

Black Caucus urges Obama to use 14th Amendment debt limit fix
By Mike Lillis - 07/30/11 10:04 PM ET

The Democratic members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) urged President Obama on Saturday to sidestep Congress and hike the nation's $14.3 trillion debt limit on his own.

In a letter to the president, the lawmakers argue that he has "both the authority and a moral obligation" to invoke the Constitution's 14th Amendment "to avoid an economic catastrophe of historic proportions."

"We must not allow a political deadlock to cause the United States to default for the first time in our history," the CBC members wrote. "Now that Congress has borrowed money and incurred debt, we cannot – as a nation and under our Constitution – walk away."

The lawmakers join a growing chorus of Democrats – including Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (Md.) and Caucus Chairman John Larson (Conn.) – who have called on Obama to invoke the Constitution as a last resort to prevent a government default.

more:
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/174553-congressional-black-caucus-urges-14th-amendment-debt-limit-fix

TPM:

FED UP: Just Do The 14th Amendment Thing Already, Democrats Beg Obama
Evan McMorris-Santoro | July 30, 2011, 7:34PM


It's getting late on Capitol Hill this Saturday evening. And it's only going to get later -- the Senate vote on Majority Leader Harry Reid's plan to raise the debt limit is coming after midnight, meaning members of Congress are cooling their heels and getting frustrated.

That might be the reason more and more Democrats are calling on President Obama to handle this debt limit fiasco unilaterally by ignoring the debt limit via a reading of the 14th Amendment popular with progressives.

more: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/07/fed-up-just-do-the-14th-amendment-thing-already-democrats-beg-obama.php