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The Hill: GOP lawmaker looks to prevent debt limit hikes without budget in place

January 19, 2012

By Pete Kasperowicz

Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) on Wednesday introduced a bill that would prevent Congress from considering an increase in the debt ceiling unless both the House and Senate have approved a concurrent budget resolution, something, the Senate has not done in nearly three years.

Lamborn announced his bill as the House was debating whether to accept President Obama's request to increase the debt ceiling by another $1.2 trillion. The House voted to disapprove of Obama's request, but the Senate is not expected to follow suit, making the debt ceiling hike inevitable.

Lamborn said his bill would at least require a budget to be in place before these debt ceiling increases can occur.

"Today I have introduced a bill to stop this madness," he said on the floor. "The Budget Before Borrowing Act, H.R. 3778, is a straightforward, no-gimmicks approach to spending money. It very simply says that the nation cannot raise the debt ceiling limit unless the House and the Senate have agreed on a budget resolution."

Under his bill, it would not be in order to consider any extension of the public debt limit unless a concurrent budget resolution were in place. This could only be waived with a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate.

Link to original article: http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/205057-gop-lawmaker-looks-to-prevent-debt-limit-hikes-without-budget-in-place