On the recordJune 27, 2002
Mr. Speaker, more than a month ago, this House passed H.R. 4775 by a vote of 280-138, a clear bipartisan majority. That bill created the ability to address the debt limit. For over a month, the Senate has not responded to addressing the debt limit. However, recently the Senate sent to the House S. 2578, a bill to raise the debt limit. Debt-limit bills usually originate in the House. In fact, the last time this situation faced the House was in 1946. In 1946, the Senate sent the House a debt ceiling bill. On the floor of the House then-majority leader John McCormick referred that bill to the Committee on the Judiciary. The House did not consider the attempt by the Senate to initiate debt-limit legislation. So today, in the act of considering a Senate-initiated debt-limit bill, we are in a situation which, based upon the data provided to me by the Parliamentarians, could be considered to be an unprecedented situation.
Source
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