Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). (Meanwhile, the Senate voted to raise the debt ceiling until December, sending it to the House.) [Trump, Schumer agree to pursue plan to repeal the debt ceiling]But why do we have a debt ceiling, and why has it stuck around despite the political fight that ensues when it's time to raise it? The debt ceiling was set up in 1917 so the Treasury could borrow money up to a limit without repeatedly having to go to Congress for permission. (The debt ceiling took its modern form, the one we know today, in 1939.)

Source: Washington Post September 07, 2017 21:55 UTC