On Friday, nearly half of all Senate Republicans signed on to a letter that was sent to President Biden, warning that they will not vote for any bill that attempts to raise the national debt limit unless that increase is connected to spending cuts to address the country’s $31 trillion debt.
The letter was led by conservative Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Ted Budd (R-NC) and says that the Republican conference’s policy states that any increase in the debt ceiling must be accompanied by cuts in federal spending or “meaningful structural reform in spending.”
“We, the undersigned members of the Senate Republican Conference, write to express our outright opposition to a debt-ceiling hike without real structural spending reform that reduces deficit spending and brings fiscal sanity back to Washington,” the senators wrote.
The group cited the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act, which would automatically provide continuing appropriations to fund government if Congress fails to pass spending legislation by the end-of-year deadline, and the Full Faith and Credit Act, which would prioritize federal payments in case Congress doesn’t raise the debt limit, as “meaningful structural reform.”
“We do not intend to vote for a debt-ceiling increase without structural reforms to address current and future fiscal realities, actually enforce the budget and spending rules on the books, and manage out-of-control government policies,” they wrote.
The letter, notably, was not signed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) but publicly supports House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) attempt to negotiate fiscal reforms with the White House in exchange for raising the debt ceiling.
Senate Minority Conference Chairman John Barrasso (R-WY) signed the letter, but Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-SD) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who are both regarded as influential members of McConnell’s leadership team, did not.
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