EXCLUSIVE: Secret Fed Docs Show Obama Misled Congress, Public During Debt Limit Crises

Daily Caller ^ | 1/31/16 | Richard Pollack

[Nachum]

Federal Reserve Bank of New York officials secretly conducted real-time exercises during the 2011 and 2013 debt-limit crisis that demonstrated the federal government could function during a temporary shutdown by prioritizing spending, even as Treasury Secretary Jack Lew publicly claimed many times that such efforts were “unworkable,” according to a new report by the House Financial Services Committee obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation.

The staff report, to be released Tuesday, charges that Lew and other Obama administration officials deliberately misled Congress and the public during the federal budget and debt limit showdowns in both years. The committee will convene a public hearing on the report Feb. 2.

The report also states that the Obama administration crafted actual contingency plans to pay for Social Security and veterans benefits, as well as principal and interest on the national debt if the government was temporarily unable to borrow more money. The Committee concludes that over the last two years the Treasury Department has “obstructed” congressional efforts to get to the bottom of the administration’s real-time policy during the two showdowns.

The Constitution stipulates that only Congress can determine how much money the federal government can borrow. Presidents thus cannot unilaterally spend beyond congressional debt ceiling limits set. The committee — chaired by Republican Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas — charged that during both confrontations, the Obama administration held the country’s creditworthiness “hostage” by claiming default was the only possibility if the debit ceiling was not raised.

[Sequoyah101]

Gosh, you mean obunghole lied again?

I can’t believe that. Just too incredible.

[Grams A]

I hosted a dinner class a couple of years ago for my clients, most of whom are doctors, on budgeting and finance and how to read, understand and use a financial statement. Sent an invite to Cornyn and Olson to join us. Didn’t even receive an acknowledgement from them, although did have a couple of local politicians and their wives join us. Interesting evening. Just amazed that so many of them had lived all these years without having a budget. Absolutely none of them had ever involved their children in the family budget process but all readily acknowledged that doing so would help them prepare for adulthood.

For a while after that I was bombarded with questions about their monthly financial reports but they have stopped asking and are generally back to their old habits. Seems difficult for some people to make a lifelong commitment to the financial part of their life.

[i_robot73]

Think you answered your own query: One ‘rich’ enough to hire an accountant more than likely doesn’t care about the week > month > year >...Just the number at the tally line on the ledger.

I presume, same for politicians. They get their little line-item and don’t care about all the OTHER line-items from the other 500+.

IMO, the way to break that cycle: ‘Bill’ each State for their 1/50th portion of the budget.

When a few States start seeing the flow OUT is greater than that IN, vs. their neighbors, they’ll start to notice. If not, their Citizens surely will when THEIR taxes come due (or the sales taxes increased/etc.) that the State has to come up with.