past 8 to 11 years. the nuance is they're not raising -- if they approve this, they're not raising the debt limit, they're saying we're not going to enforce the debt limit until may 18. that way the republicans can say we didn't vote for an increase. we're just voting to temporarily suspend enforcing the limit. so interesting politics in all of this. >> it has to be done, because the u.s. will default on all financial obligations. right now the debt limit is $16.4 trillion. >> exactly. and they expect to hit that late february or early march, we'll hit that limit. so this buys some time. again, washington is best at kicking things down the road. but also, the president has said this is money we've already spent. this isn't saying give us more money, these are bills we've already incurred. that's why he used that analogy, you go to dinner, you eat and run out the door when the check comes. you've already racked up the