A Complaint Template for Legal Challenges to the Validity of the Statutory ‘Debt Ceiling’
By Robert C. Hockett
The Statutory ‘Debt Ceiling’ appearing at 31 USC 3101(b), rooted in the Second Liberty Bond Act of 1917 aimed at expanding Treasury financing options during the First World War, is not valid in any application that would occasion default on U.S. sovereign debt, other contractual obligations, or Social Security or Veterans’ pension obligations. There are at least seven mutually reinforcing legal grounds for so saying. These include preemption of such application of the Ceiling by the comprehensive and painstakingly detailed Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, 31 USC §§ 1301 et seq. pursuant to both the Later-in-Time Rule and the Lex Specialis Canon; the Separation of Powers, the “Take Care” Clause, the “Presentment” Clause and the 14th Amendment “Debt Clause” found in our Constitution; and the “Absurd Result” Canon preempting applications of law that could not have been legislatively intended. This Complaint Template is accordingly offered for use by any Social Security or Veterans’ Pension beneficiary, any Treasury Debt holder, and any other Contractual Creditor of the United States whose claims might be imperiled by ‘Debt Ceiling’ gamesmanship in the U.S. Congress. With any luck, a stampede of lawsuits in federal courts might force a restoration of statesmanship and responsibility to both Congress and the White House.
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