The debt ceiling is redundant and dangerous and should be abolished. It's a vote on whether or not to pay bills that have already been incurred.
Every year Congress passes a budget that sets revenues and expenditures. If revenues exceed expenditures there is a budget surplus; if expenditures exceed revenues there is a budget deficit. Mathematically, the debt outstanding is simply the sum total of all annual budget surpluses and deficits going back to the founding of the nation. The required CHANGE to the debt over the course of a year is determined by that annual budget surplus/deficit, having a separate vote on it is absurd.
Every year Congress passes a budget that sets revenues and expenditures. If revenues exceed expenditures there is a budget surplus; if expenditures exceed revenues there is a budget deficit. Mathematically, the debt outstanding is simply the sum total of all annual budget surpluses and deficits going back to the founding of the nation. The required CHANGE to the debt over the course of a year is determined by that annual budget surplus/deficit, having a separate vote on it is absurd.