House Will Vote on Short-Term Debt Limit Hike
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iStockphoto/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — The House of Representatives will vote next week on a three-month short-term debt limit increase, Majority Leader Eric Cantor said Friday. Cantor is tying the vote to House and Senate votes to pass a budget.
“We must pay our bills and responsibly budget for our future. Next week, we will authorize a three month temporary debt limit increase to give the Senate and House time to pass a budget. Furthermore, if the Senate or House fails to pass a budget in that time, Members of Congress will not be paid by the American people for failing to do their job. No budget, no pay,” Cantor, R-Va., stated. “This is the first step to get on the right track, reduce our deficit and get focused on creating better living conditions for our families and children. It’s time to come together and get to work.”
House Speaker John Boehner also issued a statement about the No Budget No Pay element, which is intended to pressure the Democratic Senate, which hasn’t passed a budget the past three years.
“We are going to pursue strategies that will obligate the Senate to finally join the House in confronting the government’s spending problem. The principle is simple: no budget, no pay,” Boehner, R-Ohio, explained. “A long-term increase in the debt limit that is not preceded by meaningful and responsible reductions in government spending might avert a default, but it would also invite a downgrade of our nation’s credit that damages our economy, hurts families and small businesses, and destroys jobs.”
In response, White House press secretary Jay Carney issued the following statement:
The President has made clear that Congress has only two options: pay the bills they have racked up, or fail to do so and put our nation into default. We are encouraged that there are signs that Congressional Republicans may back off their insistence on holding our economy hostage to extract drastic cuts in Medicare, education and programs middle class families depend on. Congress must pay its bills and pass a clean debt limit increase without further delay. And as he has said, the President remains committed to further reducing the deficit in a balanced way.
When Paul Ryan said Thursday that the House was considering the short-term increase, he and other members suggested that this won’t be a free extension — there will have to be some cuts in order to get it through the House. Furthermore, members say that the Speaker’s general rule about one dollar of increase per dollar of spending cuts is still guiding their principle as they prepare to vote.
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