GOP Plan Would Raise Debt Limit Every Two Months

The Hill reports:

House Republicans are considering a plan to grant only incremental increases to the federal debt limit in a bid to extract more concessions on spending cuts and budgetary reform from the Obama administration.

The idea has a champion in Grover Norquist, the conservative activist and president of Americans for Tax Reform, who says he is “building allies” in the House Republican Conference to push for extending the debt limit every two months.

“My argument is, you give them two months at a time, because each time you could get something reasonable,” Norquist told The Hill in an interview this week at his downtown offices.

The proposal has gained traction with some members of the conservative Republican Study Committee, who plan to bring it up in “listening sessions” scheduled by party leaders for after the Easter recess.

“It is the only leverage that we have over a Senate and a president that is seemingly unconcerned about the over-spending,” said freshman Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kan.), who said he would not support any bill that allows borrowing past Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year. “I would support a much shorter time-frame.”

A push for short-term debt-limit increases is likely to face a wall of opposition with Senate Democrats and the administration, but it would set a significant marker for Republicans as they begin negotiations. The Treasury Department has not specified how high it wants the debt ceiling raised — though Treasury Secretary Timonthy Geithner recently suggested a ballpark of $2 trillion — saying it is up to Congress to decide.

Republican leaders have given little indication of their thinking, beyond suggesting that the level of the debt ceiling would be linked to the extent of spending reforms in the bill.

“Leadership is listening,” Norquist said.