Some say Congress MUST raise the debt limit...why?  If your banker won't approve a new loan, you just can't get the money.  The United States government should be no different.  The argument that it would amount to a default on existing loans is bogus, as money to pay the interest due could come from NOT paying some other bills.  As President Ronald Reagan said, "We don't have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven't taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much." It's all about priorities, and Congress is just bad about setting them.  It's high time they set some and decided that they will just stop spending money on the resulting low priority items.

And doesn't this sound like code for not setting priorities?  New House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), said he has been talking to Republican freshmen about the need to raise the federal debt ceiling to meet the country's obligations. "Whether we like it or not, the federal government has obligations, and we have obligations on our part."

Fortunately, there are some more serious Republicans, such as Tim Scott (R-South Carolina). Mr. Scott said. "The question is, when are we going to stop the way we are going? I think we have to stop it now."   Reid Ribble (R-Wisconsin) blasted his predecessor for voting to increase the ceiling in February of last year, calling the debt "unconscionable" and "insane." GOP leaders hope to package a debt-limit vote with significant spending cuts, making it easier for Republicans to vote for it. But it isn't clear that will be enough for many of the GOP freshmen. And most House Democrats are unlikely to help the Republicans by voting for such a package.

The dynamics are different in the Senate, where Democrats will still be in charge of that chamber and most of the 53 Democratic senators are likely to support raising the debt limit.  But it takes 60 votes to pass most Senate bills, and some of the incoming Republican senators associated with the tea party movement have said they would oppose raising the debt limit.  These including Senators Mike Lee (R-Utah), Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), and Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina), who is urging fellow Republicans to resist an effort to raise the federal debt ceiling, "This needs to be a big showdown."  And there is even some support among the old guard, as Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) has said a raise wouldn't pass without significant strings attached.

One good sign is that in an attempt to reform the process and create accountability for the debt, Speaker John Boehner has said he will force Representatives to vote on a limit increase with no cover of other legislation attached. For the first time in years, House lawmakers will vote on a standalone measure to increase the federal debt limit.  That would be a break with the recent tactic of burying the debt limit increase in parliamentary maneuvers and would instantly give leverage to those in Congress hoping to impose immediate spending cuts.

Here's some background on the national debt:
What is the debt ceiling, anyway? - In 1917, Congress passed a law establishing a limit on the amount of debt the federal government can carry. The law was intended to make borrowing easier, not harder, since before this, Congress had to approve each debt issuance separately.  And there's the problem...borrowing is too easy.  Congress can vote for a general increase instead of weighing the merits of individual requests to borrow.

How close are we to breaching it? - The ceiling currently stands at $14.3 trillion, since it was last raised in February 2010. The government's debt is now at $13.9 trillion. We're expected to reach the limit in March, if it's not raised before then.

Is raising the debt ceiling common? - Extremely. Since World War Two, Congress has voted 73 times to raise the ceiling. The White House and Congress alike have treated the matter as a routine part of keeping the government functioning.

Where does the President stand? - The Obama administration holds that breaching the debt limit would likely be a terrible calamity, causing default on our existing debt, making it harder to borrow in the future, and placing us in financial straits similar to  Greece, Mexico, and Argentina. But Obama didn't always profess this view.  Back in 2006, when he voted against increasing the ceiling, he said, "The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. Government can't pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government's reckless fiscal policies. ...Increasing America's debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that 'the buck stops here. Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better."  This is one time we should all agree with President Obama.

What if the debt limit is not raised? - If it is not raised it would require immediate spending cuts to keep the debt from rising.  If Congress can pass those, which is not at all certain given the Democrat majority in the Senate, then the President could choose to veto the bills.  Representative Lynn Westmoreland (R-Georgia) raised the specter of a government shutdown if that were to happen.  Last year he urged the public to stand with House Republicans when they go toe-to-toe with President Barack Obama. "If the government shuts down, we want you with us," he said.  The congressman recalled a similar shutdown that took place in 1995, when Newt Gingrich was serving as House Speaker. A future standstill could temporarily close national parks or delay payments from the government, Westmoreland speculated. "That is going to take some pain," he said. "There's going to have to be some pain for us to do some things that we've got to do to right the ship."

The fight all year is going to be about spending, and the first battle is not the time to back down.  Let your Congressmen, and even some of the other leaders mentioned above, know where you stand.   Maybe even let the President know you agree with his 2006 view. For more information on the debt limit, you may want to read some of these articles in the Daily Caller, Politico, The Lookout, Hotair, or the Wall Street Journal.