PoliticsDebt CeilingPoliticsdebt limit

John Cornyn: 'We Will Raise The Debt Ceiling' (UPDATE)

Top Senate Republican: 'We Will Raise The Debt Ceiling'
By 

Politics Reporter, The Huffington Post

|

WASHINGTON -- Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) said Thursday that Congress will raise the debt ceiling, making him the latest in a series of top-level Republicans who have stepped back from the threatened debt ceiling standoff.

"We will raise the debt ceiling. We're not going to default on our debt," Cornyn told the Houston Chronicle editorial board. "I will tell you unequivocally, we're not going to default."

"You sometimes try to inject a little doubt in your negotiating partner about where you're going to go, but I would tell you unequivocally that we're not going to default," he added.

Cornyn's office later pushed back against the suggestion that he was folding completely, saying that he still wants to extract federal budget spending cuts in exchange for an increase in the debt ceiling.

"Sen. Cornyn does not support giving the President a blank check on the debt ceiling," said Cornyn spokeswoman Megan Mitchell in an email to The Huffington Post on Friday.

President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats have called for a "clean" increase in the debt ceiling, without any accompanying spending cuts.

Still, Cornyn's remarks were a far cry in tone from his Jan. 4 Houston Chronicle op-ed, in which he wrote that a partial government shutdown may be necessary to "secure the long-term fiscal well being of our country." Cornyn declared, "The coming deadlines will be the next flashpoints in our ongoing fight to bring fiscal sanity to Washington."

Several notable Republicans, including Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Sen. Susan Collins (Maine) and Rep. Paul Ryan (Wis.), as well as conservative opinion leader Charles Krauthammer, have said the threat of default should come off the negotiating table.

On Friday, Cornyn's office also pointed to remarks that he made in Politico on Jan. 13, saying that the government could pay its bills with the revenue already coming in.

"We have more than enough revenues to service our debt," Cornyn told Politico. "And it may mean that some of the bills don't get paid as they come in or they get paid on a prorated basis until we resolve this dispute. It could be a matter of days or weeks or maybe even longer."

However, the Treasury Department has said that prioritizing the federal government's payments would be unprecedented and impossible.

"Treasury officials determined that there is no fair or sensible way to pick and choose among the many bills that come due every day. Furthermore, because Congress has never provided guidance to the contrary, Treasury's systems are designed to make each payment in the order it comes due," wrote the department's inspector general to Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) after the last debt ceiling standoff in 2011.

UPDATE: 12:43 p.m. -- Rep. Mick Mulvaney, a Tea Party-backed congressman from conservative South Carolina, also backed off the threat of default in an appearance on Bloomberg TV.

"No, there is no risk of default. No one is talking about default. No one wants to default," Mulvaney said, adding that House Republicans were nearing consensus on the debt ceiling.

Our 2024 Coverage Needs You

As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.

Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.

to keep our news free for all.

Support HuffPost

Before You Go

What The GOP Doesn't Want You To Know About The Deficit
The Deficit Has Grown Mostly Because Of The Recession(01 of11)
Open Image Modal
The deficit has ballooned not because of specific spending measures, but because of the recession. The deficit more than doubled between 2008 and 2009, as the economy was in free fall, since laid-off workers paid less in taxes and needed more benefits. The deficit then shrank in 2010 and 2011. (credit:AP)
The Stimulus Cost Much Less Than Bush's Wars, Tax Cuts(02 of11)
Open Image Modal
Republicans frequently have blamed the $787 billion stimulus for the national debt, but, when all government spending is taken into account, the stimulus frankly wasn't that big. In contrast, the U.S. will have spent nearly $4 trillion on wars in the Middle East by the time those conflicts end, according to a recent report by Brown University. The Bush tax cuts have cost nearly $1.3 trillion over 10 years. (credit:Getty)
The Deficit Grew Under George W. Bush(03 of11)
Open Image Modal
When George W. Bush took office, the federal government was running a surplus of $86 billion. When he left, that had turned into a $642 billion deficit. (credit:AP)
The Deficit Is Shrinking(04 of11)
Open Image Modal
Last year's federal budget deficit was 12 percent lower than in 2009, according to the Office of Management and Budget.The deficit is projected to shrink even more over the next several years. (credit:AP)
Investors Are Paying Us To Borrow Money(05 of11)
Open Image Modal
The interest rate on 10-year Treasury bonds is negative, according to the Treasury Department. Investors are even paying us for 30-year Treasury bonds, when adjusted for inflation. (credit:AP)
Investors Are Not Running Away(06 of11)
Open Image Modal
Conservative commentators have been warning for years that investors will run away from Treasury bonds because of the national debt. So far it's not happening. Interest rates on Treasury bonds continue to hover at historic lows. (credit:AP)
Health Care Reform Reduces The Deficit(07 of11)
Open Image Modal
Republicans have blasted the Affordable Care Act as "budget-busting." But health care reform actually reduces the deficit, according to the Congressional Budget Office. (credit:Getty)
The U.S. Is Borrowing Less From China(08 of11)
Open Image Modal
The U.S. government is borrowing much less from foreign countries than before the recession, according to government data cited by Paul Krugman. That is because the U.S. private sector is financing our bigger deficits. (credit:Getty)
We Spend A Lot On Defense(09 of11)
Open Image Modal
Defense spending constituted 20 percent of federal spending last year, or $718 billion, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. This adds up to 41 percent of the world's defense spending, according to Bloomberg TV anchor Adam Johnson. Mitt Romney has vowed to not cut defense spending if elected president. (credit:AP)
We Spend A Lot On Health Care(10 of11)
Open Image Modal
Health insurance, including Medicare and Medicaid, constituted 21 percent of federal spending last year. In contrast, education constituted 2 percent of federal spending. Meanwhile, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have promised not to change Medicare for Americans age 55 and older. (credit:AP)
Republicans May Want Large Deficits For Now(11 of11)
Open Image Modal
The federal budget deficit ballooned under Ronald Reagan, and that may be just the way Republicans like it. Some Republican thinkers have proposed "starving the beast": that is, cutting taxes in order to use larger deficits to justify spending cuts later. Since Republicans ultimately want lower taxes and a smaller government, what better way is there to cut spending than to make it look urgent and necessary? (credit:AP)
Suggest a correction
|
Submit a tip