[News Terms] Controversy Over Triggering '14th Amendment' Amid US Debt Default Crisis

The '14th Amendment' is a constitutional provision in the United States that deals with the status, qualifications, rights, and conditions for deprivation of American citizens. It consists of five sections, with Sections 1 to 3 specifying the qualifications of U.S. citizens, federal and state legislators, and officials, and Section 4 regulating debts.

After the American Civil War, the U.S. Congress amended the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. The Constitution was amended to grant citizenship to Black slaves who had been freed after the war. The 13th Amendment abolished slavery, and the 15th Amendment guaranteed voting rights to Black people. The 14th Amendment passed Congress in June 1866, the year after the war ended, but faced difficulties and was not ratified until July 1868, two years later.

Republican Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (left) and Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are being interviewed outside the White House in Washington DC after concluding a meeting on raising the debt ceiling with U.S. President Joe Biden on the 9th (local time).
[Photo by EPA/ Yonhap News]

View original image

With the possibility of a U.S. default looming next month on the 1st, and debt ceiling negotiations between President Joe Biden and the Republicans still at an impasse, some within the Democratic Party are calling for the invocation of the 14th Amendment. Unlike the Biden administration’s negative stance on using the 14th Amendment, this is interpreted as an attempt to pressure the Republicans and support the government by asserting that the Constitution grants the president the authority to avoid default.

According to the World Legal Information Center of the Library of Congress, Section 4 of the controversial 14th Amendment states: "The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave. All such debts, obligations, and claims shall be held illegal and void."

In summary, it means "all debts of the federal government must be honored." Since it states that even debts arising from rewards for suppressing insurrections or rebellions cannot be questioned legally, some U.S. constitutional scholars interpret this clause as granting the president the authority to continue issuing debt without raising the debt ceiling. On the other hand, some experts argue that using this provision could lead to legal disputes. Congress could claim that debt issued by the presidential administration is illegal, and investors might face confusion while courts review the matter.