Democrats say obama should invoke 14th amendment

Share story. By Jim Abrams. Jim Abrams. First, Union lawmakers were eager to affirm that debts incurred by the Confederate South would not be honored by the United States or any other country. This safeguarded Congress from years of disruptive politics. Second, they saw the necessity in guaranteeing the federal debt in case rebel sympathizers returning to Congress threatened to repudiate it for political ends. Section 4 includes "pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion" as an illustrative example of the kind of debt that would be guaranteed.

In other words, compensation for soldiers and their widows was safe from the whims of future Congresses. Though the wording is intentionally broader than its Civil War context, it's unclear whether Section 4 could apply to the current fight around the debt ceiling. It was former President Bill Clinton who suggested using the provision last year , when Obama and Congress were having the same fight. Jack M.

Balkin, a law professor at Yale, has cited Clinton's reasoning as strong, but not airtight. He can then get official authorization later on, or as Clinton says, 'force the courts to stop me.

Buchanan from George Washington Law. Wilentz pointed to the original intent of the 14th Amendment, when it was debated in Congress after the Civil War. Toggle navigation. Scott Bomboy is the editor in chief of the National Constitution Center. Sign up for our email newsletter. Sign Up.