Felix Salmon: “It was bliss while it lasted — which was exactly two years. Right now, the U.S. has no limit on the amount of debt it can issue. But that ends on Saturday.”

“Brace yourself for another round of unedifying posturing and brinkmanship, all of which should result — after a period of entirely unnecessary fiscal contortion — in the debt ceiling being raised (not abolished) sometime this fall.”

“The debt ceiling cannot do what it purports to do, which is control the amount that the government borrows. The tax and spending bills passed by Congress are legally binding, and the debt ceiling neither enables nor constrains them.”

New York Times: “A plan by Democrats to pay for infrastructure investments by beefing up the Internal Revenue Service to catch tax evaders has resurfaced old resentments for Republicans, whose distrust of the agency has simmered for years, erasing hopes of a bipartisan legislative accord built on narrowing the so-called tax gap.”

Politico: “When Republicans have used dynamic scoring in the past, Bernie Sanders called it a ‘gimmick.’ Democratic leaders are relying on that murky budget tactic to shrink the official cost of a $3.5 trillion plan to enact President Joe Biden’s most liberal commitments without Republican support.”

“The hypocrisy is not lost on Republicans.”

“Under the gambit, budget forecasters estimate how much a policy change might boost the economy and send more cash flowing to the federal government. This time, Democrats are pinning their revenue hopes on the idea that major investments in the social safety net, climate policy and tax reform will yield robust, long-term economic growth.”

“Lawmakers trying to seal a bipartisan infrastructure deal and maneuver Democratic priorities through Congress will claim those plans are fully paid for, but they look likely to use a series of creative budgetary techniques to achieve that target,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Instead of borrowing at historically low interest rates, as was the case in the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief law in March, lawmakers appear set to open a well-worn bag of maneuvers, which analysts in both parties call gimmicks, to help claim their policies aren’t adding to the national debt, though Democrats will certainly have tax increases to point to.”

“The U.S. is at risk of a default in October or November unless Congress raises or suspends the debt limit, the Congressional Budget Office said, offering lawmakers a cushion of time to avert a potential crisis,” Bloomberg reports.

“Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is taking a very hard line on the debt ceiling. His message — if Senate Democrats want to raise the debt ceiling, they’re going to have to do it themselves because no Republicans will vote for it in the current ‘environment’ on Capitol Hill,” Punchbowl News reports.

Said McConnell: “I can’t imagine there will be a single Republican voting to raise the debt ceiling after what we’ve been experiencing.”

He added: “I can’t imagine a single Republican in this environment that we’re in now — this free-for-all for taxes and spending — to vote to raise the debt limit. I think the answer is they need to put it in the reconciliation bill.”

The problem for Democrats is they won’t be able to put together a reconciliation bill for several months and the federal government will run out of money much sooner.

“The GOP’s lead negotiator for a bipartisan infrastructure bill said Sunday that lawmakers had nixed increased IRS enforcement as a proposed way to pay for the package,” NBC News reports.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday said the House will “realign” some of the priorities in a $3.5 trillion Senate Democrat budget blueprint to expand the proposal’s social and environmental programs, Bloomberg reports.

Said Pelosi: “What is in there is something we agree with. But it is imperative that we take the next step in reconciliation to make it all greener and more family, family friendly.”

“Senators are starting to suggest the IRS provision for tax enforcement in the bipartisan infrastructure package — one of the biggest pay-fors — might be dropped,” Axios reports.

“If it’s nixed, it’s a huge bow to conservatives, many of whom see this as the most controversial aspect.”

Related from the Washington Post: “Federal audits of corporate tax returns have plunged in recent years, letting big companies claim elaborate tax breaks with less government scrutiny.”

Annie Lowrey: “It’s a technical change to a federal tax expenditure that is also the most radical expansion of the welfare state since the Great Society. Beginning this week, the IRS will start sending monthly, no-strings-attached cash payments to an estimated 65 million children living in low- and middle-income families, potentially slashing the country’s child poverty rate by 45 percent.”

“An estimated 88 percent of recipients will not need to do anything to get the cash—the IRS will send the money automatically. But an estimated 4 million to 8 million eligible children are at risk of missing out, because their parents or guardians do not need to file taxes or are not filing taxes — and because they might not even know the complicated, obscure-sounding, and scarcely advertised policy exists.”

“Democratic leaders are gaming out several scenarios for muscling through the behemoth one-party spending bill given their razor-thin majorities in the House and Senate,” Politico reports.

“Among the scenarios under consideration earlier this week was for House Democrats to vote on the party’s budget blueprint first, reasserting the lower chamber’s role in a process that has publicly been seen as more Senate-driven, according to several Democratic aides. By Wednesday, however, that approach seemed less likely. There’s also the question of whether Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will put the bipartisan infrastructure bill — assuming a deal is reached — up for a vote before the budget blueprint.”

Washington Post: “Biden’s salesmanship opens a new political chapter in what will probably be a winding, tough debate in Congress, particularly because Democrats are divided over whether they should take the early deals they have reached, including with Republicans, or try to leverage their narrow majorities in Washington to seek more federal spending.”

Washington Post: “The proposal is expected to lay the groundwork for hundreds of billions of dollars in new spending for elder care, home care, child care, prekindergarten, paid family and medical leave, housing programs, and other education and safety net programs. The plan would also clear the way for hundreds of billions of dollars — and possibly close to $1 trillion — in climate-related legislation, including clean energy tax credits and more funding for electric vehicles.”

“The emerging plan would also include an at least $300 billion expansion of Medicare… to cover dental, vision, and hearing care… Under the plan, these new benefits would be free for seniors in the program, which could start as soon as next year.”

“To pay for these changes, Congressional Democrats are pursuing a slew of tax hikes on the rich and corporations, as well as major changes to the IRS to close the ‘tax gap’ … Other major new sources of revenue include raising the top marginal tax rate, increasing the corporate tax rate, and changes to the international tax system.”

Washington Post: “To pay for these changes, Congressional Democrats are pursuing a slew of tax hikes on the rich and corporations, as well as major changes to the IRS to close the ‘tax gap’ — the difference between what taxpayers owe and what they pay.”

“Other major new sources of revenue include raising the top marginal tax rate, increasing the corporate tax rate, and changes to the international tax system, among other potential measures.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told reporters Wednesday that the Senate Democrats’ $3.5 trillion budget deal is “wildly out of proportion to what the country needs now,” at a time he says inflation is “raging,” The Hill reports.

Said McConnell: “What Democrats say they want to force through this summer through reconciliation would make our current inflationary mess look like small potatoes.”