Sometime before its Columbus Day recess, the Senate will vote on legislation to raise the ceiling on the national debt to nearly $10 trillion. Treasury Secretary Paulson wrote congressional leaders on Wednesday that the statutory limit of $8.965 trillion would be reached Oct. 1. Last week, the Senate Finance Committee OK'ed boosting the debt limit by $850 billion to $9.815 trillion. The House did likewise without a roll call vote (under the so-called 'Gephardt' or 'Hastert' rule) when it adopted the fiscal 2008 budget resolution in May. The national debt is the total accumulation of annual budget deficits, which must be financed with borrowed money -- it has increased 40 percent during the Bush presidency (see chart below). If the debt limit is not increased, Treasury would be unable to pay interest on existing notes and bonds or borrow more funds needed to keep the government operating and to pay debt obligations coming due. The United States has never defaulted on a single debt payment. To do so would put it in the rarified company of rogue and third world countries. The last time the statutory debt limit was last increased, in March 2006, the Senate cleared the legislation, 52-48, with all Democrats and only three Republicans voting against the measure. More partisan posturing and "Punch-and-Judy" pugilism would be a disservice to the American public (see the concurring opinion cited by my colleague Matt). Americans deserve a robust debate about the fiscal future of the nation that asks us to consider:

• what trade-offs are involved in long- versus short-term budget commitments?
• which investments in infrastructure, entitlements and other domestic are the highest priorities?
• whether the tax cuts of earlier this decade should be extended?

As Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) told Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-TN) yesterday: Congress should be required to make the same difficult choices about financial priorities that are made every day by American families. It's no wonder that only 11 percent of the American public has a positive view of Congress... The debate over whether to increase the debt limit provides Congress with yet another opportunity to show American taxpayers that it has the courage to make tough decisions about spending priorities. Change the word 'spending' to 'budget' and I bet we can get a unanimous consent agreement on that one. How about it?