Rep. Randy Feenstra (IA-04) joined over 100 of his colleagues in signing an open letter to the American people, opposing any effort by congressional Democrats to raise the debt ceiling. Last month, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated Congress will need to raise the debt limit by October or November. Negotiations to raise the debt ceiling have historically been bipartisan, but as the letter states, Democrats control Congress and the White House, and have used this as an opportunity to pass trillions of dollars in unprecedented spending.
“Because Democrats are responsible for the spending, they need to take responsibility for increasing the debt ceiling,” the letter states. “They have total control of the government, and the unilateral ability to raise the debt ceiling to accommodate their unilateral spending plans.”
This letter follows a similar letter signed by 46 Republican Senators earlier this summer, promising no Republican support for any Democrat-led efforts to raise the debt ceiling.
“This is a problem created by Democrat spending. Democrats will have to accept sole responsibility for facilitating it,” the letter concludes.
The full letter can be found below:
To Our Fellow Americans,
Since taking total control of the United States federal government, with the Presidency, a narrow majority in the House, and Vice President Harris providing the deciding vote in an evenly split Senate, Democrats have embarked on a massive and unprecedented deficit spending spree. Without a single Republican vote, they passed a $1.9 trillion “Covid relief” bill in March even though $1 trillion was still unspent from previous bipartisan Covid relief bills.
Now they have passed a $3.5 trillion Budget Resolution, again without a single Republican vote. The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget has calculated that a more honest score of this budget resolution will likely exceed $5 trillion.
In order for this spending to occur, our nation’s debt limit will have to be increased significantly. Because Democrats are responsible for the spending, they need to take responsibility for increasing the debt ceiling. They have total control of the government, and the unilateral ability to raise the debt ceiling to accommodate their unilateral spending plans. Indeed, Democrats have the ability to raise the debt limit through the Budget Resolution by introducing appropriate language in the upcoming reconciliation process (or a subsequent reconciliation). Doing so would not require a single Republican vote, and would appropriately require each and every Democrat to take responsibility for their out-of-control spending.
We should not default on our debts under any circumstances. If Democrats threaten a default, it will only be because they refuse to vote for the debt ceiling increase necessitated by their own irresponsible spending. Democrats, at any time, have the power through reconciliation to unilaterally raise the debt ceiling, and they should not be allowed to pretend otherwise.
We, the undersigned Republican Representatives, are letting Democrat Representatives and the American public know that we will not vote to increase the debt ceiling, whether that increase comes through a stand-alone bill, a continuing resolution, or any other vehicle. This is a problem created by Democrat spending. Democrats will have to accept sole responsibility for facilitating it.
Original source can be found here
