Bennet, two other Democrats offer bill to trash debt ceiling

WASHINGTON» U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado joined two of his Democratic colleagues on Wednesday in introducing legislation that would end partisan fights over the debt ceiling with one easy step — by simply getting rid of it.

The legislation has little chance of passage in the Republican-controlled Senate, and it is sure to draw criticism from fiscal hawks, who view the debt ceiling as a brake on federal spending.

But Bennet argued the debt ceiling has done little to reduce the federal budget and instead creates “manufactured crises” every time Congress has to increase the amount the U.S. Treasury can borrow.

“Eliminating the debt limit would be a constructive step toward refocusing the priorities of Congress away from partisan squabbles and onto real challenges that people sent us here to address — like the fiscal health of our government,” Bennet said in a statement.

Also on the bill: Brian Schatz of Hawaii and Chris Coons of Delaware.

Congress and President Donald Trump suspended limits on the debt ceiling earlier this month as part of a broader deal that funded hurricane relief and kept the government open in the short term.

The debt-ceiling extension, however, is only temporary — meaning that Congress soon will be on the hook to approve another increase, a move it’s done more than 75 times before.