Republican senators unite behind House-passed legislation
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) joined U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) and dozens of Republican colleagues in calling for fiscal responsibility and spending control measures in debt ceiling negotiations. Senator Tuberville and his colleagues sent a letter to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) declaring broad Republican opposition to any debt ceiling legislation that lacks significant spending control measures.
“The Senate Republican conference is united behind the House Republican conference in support of spending cuts and structural budget reform as a starting point for negotiations on the debt ceiling,” wrote the senators. “This trajectory must be addressed with fiscal reforms.”
The letter emphasizes the GOP senators’ united front with the House Republican conference, advocating for spending cuts and structural budget reforms as prerequisites for any negotiation on raising the debt ceiling. Recent polling shows that 65% of Americans believe Congress should only raise the debt ceiling with restraints on future spending. The same clear majority says President Joe Biden needs to negotiate with Republicans on the debt limit.
In 2011, then-Vice President Biden personally negotiated with Republican leaders in Congress to find a debt limit compromise that included spending cuts.
In addition to Senators Tuberville and Lee, current signatories include U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Ted Budd (R-NC), Mike Braun (R-IN), James Lankford (R-OK), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-KS), Ron Johnson (R-WI), James Risch (R-ID), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Rick Scott (R-FL), John Cornyn (R-TX), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Steve Daines (R-MT), Katie Britt (R-AL), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), John Barrasso (R-WY), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Tim Scott (R-SC), John Hoeven (R-ND), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and J.D. Vance (R-OH).
The text of the full letter can be found below.
Dear Leader Schumer,
The Senate Republican conference is united behind the House Republican conference in support of spending cuts and structural budget reform as a starting point for negotiations on the debt ceiling.
Our economy is in free fall due to unsustainable fiscal policies. This trajectory must be addressed with fiscal reforms. Moreover, recent Treasury projections have reinforced the urgency of addressing the debt ceiling. The House has taken a responsible first step in coming to the table with their proposals. It is imperative that the president now do the same.
As such, we will not be voting for cloture on any bill that raises the debt ceiling without substantive spending and budget reforms.
BACKGROUND
The debt limit — commonly called the ‘debt ceiling’ — is the highest amount the government is allowed to borrow under federal law. The federal government hit the debt limit in January 2023. Since then, the U.S. Treasury has employed ‘extraordinary measures’ to continue making payments on debt and new expenses. According to the U.S. Treasury, the United States is on track to exhaust those measures and run out of financial liquidity in a matter of weeks, meaning the federal government would no longer be able to make all of its payments.
Democrats have advocated for an increase in the amount of money the federal government is allowed to borrow without any reduction in federal spending.
Senator Tuberville and his colleagues have signaled they will not support any debt ceiling increase without significant reductions in spending. President Biden has repeatedly refused to negotiate a debt ceiling deal with Republicans. The U.S. House of Representatives, led by Republicans, passed the Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023 — a debt ceiling increase paired with spending cuts — on April 26, 2023.
In Fiscal Year 2022, federal tax revenue hit a record high of $4.9 trillion. However, in the same year, the federal government had deficit spending of more than $1.38 trillion.
In just over two years under President Biden, $5.6 trillion was added to the publicly-held national debt. Senator Tuberville voted against nearly all of this new spending. Currently, the United States owes$31.46 trillion, meaning the country’s debt is 127% of its gross domestic product (GDP), which is the total value of the economy. This debt-to-GDP ratio is the highest in American history.
Under President Biden’s latest budget request, the United States would spend $82.2 trillion over the next decade, which would require borrowing an additional $17 trillion and raising taxes by $4.7 trillion. If the proposal was implemented, the United States would spend $10.2 trillion over the next decade paying interest on the debt.
Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, and HELP Committees.
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