Debunking Debt Ceiling Fallacies: Lessons from 1953 to Today.
The first debt ceiling fight in the US Congress happened in 1953 when President Eisenhower asked for a $15 billion ceiling bump, but the Senate refused. The debt ceiling was originally meant to expedite business in Congress, but it no longer worked when World War II started. The government needed to borrow lots of money very quickly, and Congress really couldn't keep up. The debt ceiling crisis was resolved by Congress approving a $6 billion debt ceiling increase, less than half of the $15 billion Eisenhower had originally asked for.