House votes to deny Obama increase in borrowing authority

January 19, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON

The Republican-led House launched its first full legislative day of the New Year by reigniting one of last year’s pivotal partisan fights — the debt-ceiling debate that helped define the “tea party”-powered majority.

The House voted largely along party lines Wednesday to deny President Barack Obama an increase in new borrowing authority — a political exercise that is not expected to curtail federal spending or threaten a federal default. The tally was 239-176.

Because the measure is expected to stall in the Senate, which Democrats control, and is opposed by Obama, it is unlikely to prevent the $1.2 trillion debt- ceiling increase.

“Here we are in the first full day of the House debating a measure that would take us back to the brink of default,” said Democratic Rep. Sander Levin of Michigan. “It’s a rerun of a bad movie. House Republicans have returned to Washington with the same confrontational tone. ... Enough is more than enough.”

Republican leaders are eager to move past last year’s showdowns, but Wednesday’s vote was part of the summer deal to increase the nation’s debt limit. The GOP had demanded that Obama request the increase in three increments and that each chamber of Congress get the chance to vote no.

The national debt stands at $15.2 trillion, as much as the gross domestic product. The $1.2 trillion increase is expected to cover the nation’s obligations through the November election, ending, for now, the GOP’s ability to leverage the issue to extract other legislative priorities.