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The partisan stalemate that has delayed a decision on the nation’s debt limit is again proving too great to overcome by either side.
Earlier this week, President Barack Obama invited House Republicans to the White House to discuss the budget and debt limit, which the country is expected to reach and exceed in August. On Thursday, Republicans met with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.
First Congressional District Representative Tim Huelkamp, in a statement issued following the meeting, said Geithner used only scare tactics, offering no new idea on how to solve the nation’s debt crisis.
“Secretary Geithner offered the same crisis rhetoric this administration has been using for the past 2-and-a-half years,” Huelskamp said. “He said that in the event the debt ceiling is not raised by August 2nd that it would be ‘instant lights out.’ The Obama administration has been compelling Washington to employ its Big Government strategy by predicting doomsday if Congress fails to engage in a massive spend-and-borrow spree.”
Huelskamp said Thursday’s meeting provided no hope for a compromise on the debt ceiling and reductions in federal spending.
For much of the spring, Republicans and Democrats have disagreed on how to handle the mount and historic levels of federal debt. Democrats have insisted lawmakers approve a new, higher debt ceiling to help alleviate the mounting pressure on the nation’s credit rating. Republicans, on the other hand, have insisted that a change in the debt limit cannot come without a change in spending. Republicans on Wednesday blocked a bill to raise the debt limit demanding that Democrats agree to spending cuts before any legislation is passed.
At the heart of the issue are the nation’s fiscal priorities including entitlement programs and taxes.
Also on Thursday’s Moody’s warned it may downgrade the nation’s debt rating if lawmakers fail to increase the debt ceiling in the coming weeks. The country actually hit its debt limit last month but the treasury department has used accounting measure to avoid actually breaching the limit.
The partisan stalemate that has delayed a decision on the nation’s debt limit is again proving too great to overcome by either side.
Earlier this week, President Barack Obama invited House Republicans to the White House to discuss the budget and debt limit, which the country is expected to reach and exceed in August. On Thursday, Republicans met with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.
First Congressional District Representative Tim Huelkamp, in a statement issued following the meeting, said Geithner used only scare tactics, offering no new idea on how to solve the nation’s debt crisis.
“Secretary Geithner offered the same crisis rhetoric this administration has been using for the past 2-and-a-half years,” Huelskamp said. “He said that in the event the debt ceiling is not raised by August 2nd that it would be ‘instant lights out.’ The Obama administration has been compelling Washington to employ its Big Government strategy by predicting doomsday if Congress fails to engage in a massive spend-and-borrow spree.”
Huelskamp said Thursday’s meeting provided no hope for a compromise on the debt ceiling and reductions in federal spending.
For much of the spring, Republicans and Democrats have disagreed on how to handle the mount and historic levels of federal debt. Democrats have insisted lawmakers approve a new, higher debt ceiling to help alleviate the mounting pressure on the nation’s credit rating. Republicans, on the other hand, have insisted that a change in the debt limit cannot come without a change in spending. Republicans on Wednesday blocked a bill to raise the debt limit demanding that Democrats agree to spending cuts before any legislation is passed.
At the heart of the issue are the nation’s fiscal priorities including entitlement programs and taxes.
Also on Thursday’s Moody’s warned it may downgrade the nation’s debt rating if lawmakers fail to increase the debt ceiling in the coming weeks. The country actually hit its debt limit last month but the treasury department has used accounting measure to avoid actually breaching the limit.
