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Republicans Contemplating Government Shutdown Over Debt FightRelated Content
Republican leadership has publicly laid out drastic terms ahead of the multi-pronged debt fight Washington faces next month. "I think it is possible that we would shut down the government to make sure President Obama understands that we're serious," Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., the fourth ranking Republican in the House, told Politico. Congress is facing a trifecta of events that will make up the next budget battle: the debt limit will be maxed out by the end of February or early March, the $1.2 trillion sequester is set to go into effect March 1 and government funding for the current fiscal year expires on March 27. Public admission that House Republicans are willing to shut down the government over the debt ceiling and spending means that the stakes have just been raised. Mr. Obama has said that he will not negotiate over the debt ceiling. He wants Congress to raise it with no strings attached. The White House put out a pointed statement over the weekend, indicting their insistence against a knock-out fight. "When Congressional Republicans played politics with this issue last time, putting us at the edge of default, it was a blow to our economic recovery, causing our nation's credit rating to be downgraded," White House spokesman Jay Carney said. "Congress needs to do its job." As the 113th Congress comes back into session today, the president seems intent on getting out in front of the issue, scheduling a news conference regarding the debt ceiling for Monday morning. But Republicans are sounding defiant. "We always talk about whether or not we're going to kick the can down the road. I think the mood is that we've come to the end of the road," McMorris Rogers told Politico. Republicans want deep spending cuts. According to the Politico story, they want an additional $1 trillion of spending cuts in addition to the $1.2 trillion sequester. Another option for a rancorous House GOP conference is default, which means allowing the debt ceiling to be reached, prohibiting the Treasury Department from paying the bills already incurred. "No one wants to default, but we are not going to continue to give the president a limitless credit card," Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, told Politico. |
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Andy said on Monday, Jan 14 at 10:30 AM
Stop the spending. It's time to cut that credit card up! At some pint the bills have to be paid.
111294721Anonymous said on Monday, Jan 14 at 1:18 PM
Kathleen Tonn/ Move the Mountain Ministries... Do you really know what lies at the end of the road?
111308101Demo said on Monday, Jan 14 at 2:17 PM
Republicans are only and always playing "politics". No concern for people's welfare at stake and only for their own pocket. I think they are thinking too much on losing the "Tea Party" status and using their tactics to try to act like one. They should just go and have a tea party and start feeling good about people (not politics).
111312801Bob L said on Monday, Jan 14 at 4:54 PM
My message to the democrats is simple. What do you do at the end of each month when you don't have enough money to pay your bills????
111323062TedtheBear said on Monday, Jan 14 at 6:47 PM
Demo, what do you do when your credit card is max out? Or when you are bankrupt? Or when you are on welfare? You may seek your government to help you out. But what happened if the government is in the same bad shape as you are? How much money are we going to spend? Money we don't have while crying out for the welfare of the people?
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