Obama 2012...Thursday as the Senatevoted to clear the way for President Obama to raise the federal government’s borrowing limit by another $1.2 trillion to $16.4 trillion, which he hopes will last past the November election.
In a 52-44 vote, the Senate blocked a bill that would have halted the debt increase. Under the terms of the deal Mr. Obama and House SpeakerJohn A. Boehner struck last summer to couple spending cuts with more debt, the debt limit has risen $2.1 trillion - the largest increase in history.
Obama 2006... "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 US Government cannot 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." ~ Senator Barack H. Obama, March 2006
