United States Debt Ceiling (1940-2013)

The United States debt ceiling has been effectively neutered as part of the October 2013 spending law.

The U.S. Senate invoked cloture on S. 1569, the Default Prevention Act, on October 12, 2013, by a vote of 53-45.

• As National Journal put it, if it became law, it would "Fundamentally change the way the debt ceiling works."  
• Breitbart said it "would take away the Congress’ power to increase the debt ceiling."

That policy switched legislative vehicles and in the October spending bill, H.R. 2775, became Section 1002 which "may be cited as the 'Default Prevention Act of 2013,'" becoming Public Law 113-46.

On final passage of the deal, Politico reported, "The legislation also includes a McConnell-written proposal that would allow Congress to disapprove of the debt-ceiling increase. Lawmakers will formally vote on rejecting the bump of the borrowing limit - if it passed, it could be vetoed by Obama."

The Hill's Floor Action blog reported simply, "The deal also gives the Treasury Department the ability to borrow beyond the debt ceiling."