The 14th Amendment contains language that some argue secures the national debt from political gamesmanship - the sort of thing that happens when battles over raising the debt ceiling arise. The full faith and credit of the US is paramount. But some argue that is not the case.
Mr. Bartlett tries to debunk that argument by reviewing the history of Section 4 of the 14th Amendment. He argues that this provides a constitutional safeguard for debt service:
The purpose of the debt provision of the 14th Amendment was to say that national debt was beyond the realm of politics. In the words Jack
Balkin, a Yale law professor: “It was stated in broad terms in order to
prevent future majorities in Congress from repudiating the federal debt
to gain political advantage, to seek political revenge or to try to
disavow previous financial obligations because of changed policy
priorities.”
Republican threats to hold the debt limit hostage to their agenda
today present precisely the sort of political situation contemplated by
the authors of the 14th Amendment.
