McClintock takes first swing in debt ceiling fight

In what could be seen as the first swing in an impending fight on whether or not the U.S. will raise its debt ceiling, Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) introduced legislation Tuesday that would force the Treasury to prioritize interest and principle payments to debtors if Congress does not raise the ceiling.

McClintock's move comes in response to repeated warnings from some Democrats and Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geitner that if the Congress does not raise the limit when the Treasury makes its expected request in the spring, the U.S. would default on its financial obligations to debtor countries including China and spin the world into a deep financial crisis. 

"If Congress were to fail to act Treasury would be forced to default on legal obligations of the United States, causing catastrophic damage to the economy, potentially much more harmful than the effects of the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009," said Geithner in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Jan. 6. "Any default on the legal debt obligations of the United States is unthinkable and must be avoided."

But Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who is a cosponsor of McClintock's bill, said the administration is using "scare tactics" to get the ceiling lifted and allow more spending.

"A pitiful scare tactic is being used by the Treasury Secretary in the debt ceiling debate,” said Jordan. “Secretary Geithner knows full well that he has the authority to prioritize federal spending so that default is not an option. This bill will take Secretary Geithner’s disastrous scenario completely off the table.”

Because the Constitution gives the House of Representatives the power of the purse the Treasury must spend within limits set by the Congress.

According to a press release from McClintock's office, H.R. 421 or the "Full Faith and Credit Act," is also being co-sponsored by Reps. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) and Scott Garrett (R-N.J.).

A companion bill was also introduced in the Senate on Tuesday by Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.).