Jack, House Republican leaders are meeting with President Biden to cut a "deal" on the debt limit. It is a game of right-wing extortion that we don't have to play.

Sign the petition to President Biden: Use the 14th Amendment to avert default.

Sign the petition
The "debt limit" is a manufactured crisis to put our economy on the brink of collapse—egged on by MAGA extremists who hope to get policy concessions they could never otherwise get.

And right now, they are winning. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is insisting on outrageous work demands for Food Stamps and Medicaid, as the clock ticks to a June 1 default date.

But it's also a fictional crisis. Because the "debt limit" itself—if allowed to breach—violates the U.S. Constitution. Section 4 of the 14th Amendment says that our public debt "shall not be questioned." If we are still at a stalemate on June 1, Biden can use his executive power to have the U.S. Treasury keep borrowing money to pay its pre-existing obligations.

Until Biden says he will invoke the 14th Amendment, House Republicans continue to have the upper hand in negotiations. Before he gives away any concessions that will increase poverty and destabilize our country, the President must declare his intent to use the 14th Amendment.

Sign the petition to President Biden: Time is running out, and Republicans have the upper hand in this hostage negotiation. Use the 14th Amendment to save our economy.

Sign the petition
Keep fighting,
Paul Hogarth, Daily Kos

P.S. Below is an email we sent you on this earlier.

Jack, sign the petition to President Biden: We are at an impasse, with default looming. Use the 14th Amendment to avert default.

Sign the petition
As the United States approaches default on June 1, MAGA Republicans have demanded unthinkable cuts that would make children poorer, veterans sicker, families hungrier and likely trigger a deep recession.

The so-called "negotiations" currently going underway are really just a hostage situation. But there is a likely constitutional way to prevent default that would not require caving to these outrageous Republican demands.

As President, Joe Biden could invoke Section 4 of the 14th Amendment, which states that "the validity of the public debt of the United States shall not be questioned," and order the U.S. Treasury to keep paying our debts so that we do not default.

Sign the petition to President Biden: Stop MAGA extortion. Use the 14th Amendment.

Sign the petition
The "debt limit" was only created by statute in 1917 to help the United States fight World War I. And because Congress has voted to raise it each time since 1917 to keep it under that limit, we have never had a constitutional crisis like today.

However, Section 4 of the 14th Amendment makes it clear that the debt ceiling was never needed in the first place and, in fact, a default on our debt violates the Constitution.

Most other countries do not even have a debt limit. They presume that if spending is legally authorized, the necessary funds must be made available—either through taxes or borrowing.

At a May 9 press conference, President Biden said he is "considering" using the 14th Amendment. This is very encouraging news, but because no president has been forced to invoke the 14th Amendment to avert default in the past, he will need all the political support he can get to move forward.

Sign the petition to President Biden: Use the 14th Amendment to save us from default.

Sign the petition
Keep fighting,
Paul Hogarth, Daily Kos