Mitch McConnell And Rand Paul On Opposite Sides Of John Boehner Debt Limit Plan.
McConnell and Paul split on House GOP debt plan
Not every Republican in Congress is rowing in the same direction on the debt ceiling crisis.
Look no farther than Kentucky’s two GOP senators.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is supporting the debt ceiling plan being pushed by House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and getting a floor vote later today.
Sen. Rand Paul not only doesn’t like the Boehner plan, but has penned a letter with Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., and Sen. David Vitter, R-La., urging fellow Republicans to reject the plan by the GOP’s most powerful leader in Congress.
Here is what McConnell told Senate colleagues this morning:
"The clock is ticking.
"In just a few days, the U.S. government will no longer have the ability to borrow money to pay its bills — a situation that the president and his advisors have said would trigger an economic Armageddon.
"So I was shocked last night when 53 Senate Democrats issued a letter saying that they intend to vote against the only piece of legislation that has any chance of preventing all this from happening.
"Even more shocking is the fact that Democrat leaders and the president himself have endorsed every feature of this legislation except one: and that’s the fact that it doesn’t allow the President to avoid another national debate about spending and debt until after the next presidential election.
"This assurance is the only thing the president and Senate Democrats are holding out for right now.
"The Democrats can try to justify their opposition to the House bill any way they want. They can claim they’re worried about a stalemate six months from now. They can ignore the fact that of the 31 times Congress and the president have raised the debt limit over the past 25 years, 22 of those debt limit increases lasted less than a year.
"Why?
"To make the president’s reelection campaign a little bit easier.
"Now, it’s inconceivable to me that the president would actually follow through on this threat. After all, the president’s first responsibility is to do what’s best for the country, not his reelection campaign. Same goes for the Senate Democrats.
"It’s inconceivable to me that they would actually block the only bill that could get through the House of Representatives and prevent a default right now. It’s inconceivable to me that they would do this for no other reason than to help the president avoid another debate before the election about the need for Washington to get its fiscal house in order.
"But that’s precisely what we may be headed for this weekend: guaranteed default, or a bill that takes the specter of a default off the table while giving us another opportunity to address the very deficits and debts that caused this crisis in the first place.
"Democrats are playing with fire here, and it’s hard to conclude that they’re doing it for any other reason than politics.
"So I would urge Senate Democrats this morning to rethink their position, and to join Republicans in preventing default."
But Paul and Lee told reporters today that the Boehner package does nothing but add $7 trillion to $8 trillion to the debt over the next 10 years.
"I don’t think were yet serious about reforming the process," Paul said.
In their letter to other Republicans earlier this week, Paul and his three colleagues said the first-year cuts under the Boehner proposal "are a paltry $7 billion."
The speaker’s plan also will not prevent a downgrade to the credit rating of the United States, the senators contended.
"There remains one way to raise the debt ceiling that can both solve our long term debt crisis and avert a short term down grade – passage of Cut Cap and Balance or similar legislation that specifically ties the debt limit increase to a (balanced budget amendment to the Constitution)," the senators wrote. "We urge you to hold the line for real reform, to vote no on the Debt Limit extension, and to urge House leaders to stand up for taxpayers and our economic future."
Not every Republican in Congress is rowing in the same direction on the debt ceiling crisis.
Look no farther than Kentucky’s two GOP senators.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is supporting the debt ceiling plan being pushed by House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and getting a floor vote later today.
Sen. Rand Paul not only doesn’t like the Boehner plan, but has penned a letter with Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., and Sen. David Vitter, R-La., urging fellow Republicans to reject the plan by the GOP’s most powerful leader in Congress.
Here is what McConnell told Senate colleagues this morning:
"The clock is ticking.
"In just a few days, the U.S. government will no longer have the ability to borrow money to pay its bills — a situation that the president and his advisors have said would trigger an economic Armageddon.
"So I was shocked last night when 53 Senate Democrats issued a letter saying that they intend to vote against the only piece of legislation that has any chance of preventing all this from happening.
"Even more shocking is the fact that Democrat leaders and the president himself have endorsed every feature of this legislation except one: and that’s the fact that it doesn’t allow the President to avoid another national debate about spending and debt until after the next presidential election.
"This assurance is the only thing the president and Senate Democrats are holding out for right now.
"The Democrats can try to justify their opposition to the House bill any way they want. They can claim they’re worried about a stalemate six months from now. They can ignore the fact that of the 31 times Congress and the president have raised the debt limit over the past 25 years, 22 of those debt limit increases lasted less than a year.
"Why?
"To make the president’s reelection campaign a little bit easier.
"Now, it’s inconceivable to me that the president would actually follow through on this threat. After all, the president’s first responsibility is to do what’s best for the country, not his reelection campaign. Same goes for the Senate Democrats.
"It’s inconceivable to me that they would actually block the only bill that could get through the House of Representatives and prevent a default right now. It’s inconceivable to me that they would do this for no other reason than to help the president avoid another debate before the election about the need for Washington to get its fiscal house in order.
"But that’s precisely what we may be headed for this weekend: guaranteed default, or a bill that takes the specter of a default off the table while giving us another opportunity to address the very deficits and debts that caused this crisis in the first place.
"Democrats are playing with fire here, and it’s hard to conclude that they’re doing it for any other reason than politics.
"So I would urge Senate Democrats this morning to rethink their position, and to join Republicans in preventing default."
But Paul and Lee told reporters today that the Boehner package does nothing but add $7 trillion to $8 trillion to the debt over the next 10 years.
"I don’t think were yet serious about reforming the process," Paul said.
In their letter to other Republicans earlier this week, Paul and his three colleagues said the first-year cuts under the Boehner proposal "are a paltry $7 billion."
The speaker’s plan also will not prevent a downgrade to the credit rating of the United States, the senators contended.
"There remains one way to raise the debt ceiling that can both solve our long term debt crisis and avert a short term down grade – passage of Cut Cap and Balance or similar legislation that specifically ties the debt limit increase to a (balanced budget amendment to the Constitution)," the senators wrote. "We urge you to hold the line for real reform, to vote no on the Debt Limit extension, and to urge House leaders to stand up for taxpayers and our economic future."
Labels: Mitch McConnell, Rand Paul
posted by KYJurisDoctor at 10:11 PM
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