WASHINGTON D.C. – Today, House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (TX-19) joined "Mornings with Maria" on Fox News to discuss the ongoing negotiations to responsibly lift the debt ceiling as the deadline grows closer.
Chairman Arrington on the current state of negotiations:
"I think we've got a lot of leverage to stop the spending and include fiscal reforms, for once, as we raise the debt ceiling. And that's only the case because Republicans in the House passed that proposal. Our Republican colleagues in the Senate have held the line and said, 'We will not pass a clean debt ceiling, we must have meaningful fiscal reforms'. And here's the big one, the American people, three out of four, including almost 60% of Democrat voters expect the President and our Democrat colleagues to stay at the negotiating table until we have a responsible debt ceiling, which again, would address the spending that has created this inflationary firestorm and the economic woes that you were talking about before this interview."
Chairman Arrington on President Biden looking for excuses:
"What's on the table is the President responding to the proposal we passed. You know, he's tried to run the clock out. I don't think he thought we could pass a proposal. They're all very sensible, as you know, right-size the bureaucracy, rein in this spending [like] some of the most reckless spending decisions, like lower-income people bailing out upper middle-income families whose kids go to college, that's a half a trillion dollars, and then just staving off the barrage of regulatory attacks on our domestic energy. There's something in each category of Limit, Save, Grow that will help us get out of this sustained recession outlook, and that will tamp down on the inflation that working families are struggling with. That's the proposal this president has to deal with. Instead of looking for excuses and escape hatches, he's got to do the hard work of negotiating. That's what the American people expect, and I think that will be the outcome ultimately."
Chairman Arrington on President Biden proposing the 14th amendment:
"The 14th Amendment has been around since 1868, the debt limit legislation mechanism for Congress to respond and lift the debt ceiling has been around for 100 years. This does not hold any constitutional or legal water. It's another desperate attempt by this President and Democrats to clutch the blank check that's bankrupting the country. He needs to let every other excuse go. Stay at the table, do the right thing. act responsibly, and listen to his Secretary of Treasury like we did and move with urgency to get a responsible debt ceiling deal. These are just diversions. There's no sense in doing that. We've got a proposal he needs to respond to it."
