Moran's Idea For Debt Ceiling: Do Away With It

Rep. Jim Moran (D-Virginia) is unveiling his plan to get rid of the debt ceiling in a news conference on Capitol Hill Wednesday morning.

Moran will join Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Hank Johnson (D-GA) to unveil their Full Faith and Credit Act of 2011. The group calls the debt ceiling an unecessary law “increasingly used as an impediment to Congress’s ability to further economic recovery.” 

Over the summer, the country nearly defaulted as Democrats and Republicans battled over whether to raise the federal debt limit. In the end, the two sides agreed on a last-minute deal to raise the limit in exchange for spending cuts.

Moran, who represents Virginia's 8th District, which includes Reston, was one of 95 House Democrats who joined 66 Republicans in voting against the debt-ceiling deal Aug. 1.

Their bill stands little chance advancing in the Republican-controlled House, pundits say. Though the ceiling has been raised over the years,  conservatives have recently seized on it as a valuable tool to ensure fiscal discipline.