Congress establishes the limit on borrowing, and it's up to Congress to adjust it. The Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, ratified on July 9, 1868, defined citizenship and guaranteed the rights of citizens.The Due Process Clause provides that no states shall deprive any "person" of "life, liberty or property" without due process of law. In the wake of the war, the Congress submitted, and the States ratified, the Thirteenth. Yes, the 14th Amendment says that the national debt "shall not be questioned". In this episode, the debt ceiling and the 14th Amendment. Many on the left believe they've found an escape hatch in Section 4 of the 14th Amendment. Prior to this point, all changes in the federal debt limit were legislated as amendments to the Second Liberty Bond Act of 1917. What does the 14th Amendment have to do with the debt ceiling? Nothing, despite some Senate Democrats' suggestions otherwise.