In a surprise move, Rep. Darrell Issa (R) of California, who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, on Wednesday proposed approving a short-term increase in the debt limit until Oct. 1, the start of the new fiscal year.
A businessman would not write a check without making sure there were funds to cover it, he says, and in April, Congress passed a $1.055 trillion spending bill for the remainder of fiscal year 2011. Lawmakers now have an obligation to cover it, he says.
“Many of the [GOP] freshmen are businessmen and they want a principled way to go forward,” he says. “The president is entitled to be able to cash checks we’ve written for him.”
Mr. Issa says that he has consulted widely with the GOP caucus on this proposal and that six of the 59 Republicans who voted against the FY 2011 spending bill say they could support this proposal. House leaders have not commented on this proposal.
