Rep Trone says it could lead to higher interest rates.
Washington DC (KM) Sixth District Representative David Trone (D) says he’s “disappointed:” in how Congress is handling the debt ceiling crisis. He says raising the debt ceiling will enable the federal government to continue borrowing money to pay its financial obligations, many of which were mandated by Congress. It’s not about spending cuts or bringing down the deficit.
“And all raising the debt ceiling is saying we’re going to pay our debts that we already incurred,”: he said, “It has nothing to do with future incurrments.”
The debt ceiling is the limit that the federal government can borrow in order to pay its financial obligations.
Currently, there is a battle between Democrats and Republicans over increasing the federal government’s borrowing authority. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R) has introduced a bill which would raise the debt ceiling in return for concessions such as limiting discretionary spending, eliminating the student loan forgiveness program,, and cutting funds for the IRS. He says it would save Americans $4.5 trillion.
Many Democrats have rejected that idea, one describing it “dead on arrival.” The President has called for a clean debt celling bill with other budgetary concerns to be addressed later.
Representative Trone says he favors budgetary reforms. “Do I want to get the budget more balanced? Absolutely,” he said. “I’m a business guy. I have to balance my budget every year, and we need to figure that out in Congress. But that doesn’t mean we hold the threat out or not pay our bills we owe people.”
The US Department of the Treasury says if no action is taken, the federal government could default on tis financial obligations by June 5th. The Congressional Budget Officer says that probably won’t happen until July or September.
“If we default, it is cataclysmic for everybody in America,” Trone says. “Social Security benefits; interest rates will go through the roof. America will stop being that one currency, that one country we can count on. We’ve got bills. We’ve got to pay those bill.”
By Kevin McManus