Wow! Senator Mike Less proposing a bill to ban the Trillion Dollar Platinum Coin.

The good news is that, by proposing this, it basically eliminates any ambiguity over whether the Treasury, under current law, has such authority.
https://www.lee.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=80C3C210-98F6-4D29-9C96-D47610BF7CFF HT: @rohangrey

One thing that's weird is, the platinum coin doesn't allow for any increased spending. And yet this bill is framed as a way to prevent a spending spree.

Maybe @conncarroll can clarify its purpose.

The Trillion Dollar Platinum Coin is very misunderstood.

The thing is, the binding constraint on all spending is Congressional budgetary authority.

What we have is this dumb tripwire in the system such that from time to time, raising the debt ceiling is a separate vote.

The debt ceiling accomplishes nothing. And the recurrence of the debt ceiling vote is simply a way to grandstand so that politicians can pretend to care about reducing deficits in a manner that's separate from the budgetary process.

The problem is, at some point, we could get into a situation whereby Congress has approved the spending, but if enough grandstanding politicians refuse to hike the debt ceiling, then we could have a default or some kind of chaotic moment.

Idea behind the Platinum Coin is simply that, under current law, the Treasury is allowed to produce, well, platinum coins in any denomination. And if deposited at the Fed, could create debt breathing room. It's basically a hack to circumvent a dumb law that accomplishes nothing

What it's not is a hack to allow for the executive branch to spend more unilaterally. It doesn't accomplish that. But critics of the coin like to paint it as such.

Oh I meant Mike Lee at the top of the thread, not Mike Less. Typo. It's been a long week.