After a showdown last year, the debt limit was raised until December 31, 2024. That means that, sometime between the election and the swearing in of the next Congress, the debt limit will need to increase again.

Depending on the election results, Republicans in Congress could be planning for another January 6th insurrection, and we’re going to need to rely on them to prevent the United States from defaulting? Yikes.

The last time this came up, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson called Social Security and Medicare “the greatest threat to our national security,”[1] and pledged to convene a closed-door commission to cut Social Security and Medicare in secret. The debt ceiling gives him the chance to shove that commission down the throats of Americans, even if they reject the MAGA agenda at the ballot box.

The Debt Ceiling Reform Act, introduced by Rep. Brendan Boyle and Sen. Dick Durbin, would:

• Permanently end the weaponization of default threats

• Preserve Congress’s oversight powers

• Protect Social Security and Medicare from hostage-taking

For more than a decade, Republicans in Congress have used the threat of default to try to lure Democrats into agreeing to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. We have beaten them every time, but it’s time to end this dangerous tactic once and for all. The full faith and credit of the United States is not a bargaining chip.

Sign now: Congress must pass the Debt Ceiling Reform Act to end the Republican practice of taking our nation’s credit hostage.