The White House has released this statement from Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest regarding the administration's planned submission of certification to Congress for a debt ceiling hike:
The Budget Control Act (BCA) provides that the President may submit a written certification to Congress when the debt subject to limit is within $100 billion of the debt limit. Under the statute, the President may submit this certification at any point after the debt comes within $100 billion of the limit.
As indicated on Tuesday, the Treasury Department expects that the debt will be within $100 billion of the limit by the close of business today, and therefore we had anticipated submitting a certification to Congress later today, pursuant to the BCA.
However, we have been asked by bicameral leadership of Congress to delay certification in order to give both houses time to consider when votes may occur given the current Congressional schedule.
The President has agreed to Congress' request to delay submission of the certification, which he has flexibility to do under the BCA. The Administration is in discussions with leaders in both houses to determine the best timing for submission of the certification and any subsequent votes in the two houses.
The White House had intended to submit the certification for an additional $1.2 trillion in debt by the end of today, setting up a symbolic vote in the Congress; symbolic because neither chamber has enough members to override a veto if Congress actually voted to disapprove of the hike. So while you can expect a lot of hot air over this hike, it's set up specifically to prevent House Republicans from taking the nation hostage over it again.
The House is out of session until Jan. 17, and the Senate until Jan. 23. The deadline for the congressional approval vote, had the White House decided to submit the certification today, would have been Jan. 13. Had the White House insisted on it, leadership probably would have tried to pass it with unanimous consent, which would have created even bigger headaches for House Speaker John Boehner, who already has a whiny caucus because of the recent unanimous consent vote on the payroll tax cut extension. This delay will give his malcontents a chance to rail about the hike and vote against it without having to cut their vacations short. And if we know one thing, those House Republicans love their vacations.