Geithner: Congress Will Raise Debt Ceiling — And Leaders Told That To Obama And Me
Appearing on This Week, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said: “Well, I want to make it perfectly clear that Congress will raise the debt ceiling.” When asked by Christiane Amanpour whether he was sure about that, Geithner responded: “Absolutely. And they recognize it, and they told the president that on Wednesday in the White House. And I sat there with them, and they said, we recognize we have to do this. And we’re not going to play around with it. Because we know — we know that the risk would be catastrophic.”
Geithner: If Debt Ceiling Isn’t Raised, U.S. And World Economy Would Tip ‘Into Recession, Depression’
Also during his appearance on This Week, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner warned of what would happen if the debt ceiling were not raised. “What will happen is that we’d have to stop making payments to our seniors — Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security. We’d have to stop paying veterans’ benefits,” said Geithner. “We’d have to stop paying all the other payments on all the other things the government does. And then we would risk default on our interest payments. If we did that, we’d tip the U.S. economy and the world economy back into recession, depression.”
Geithner: Opponents Of Debt Ceiling Increase ‘Going To Own The Responsibility For The Risk That Creates’
Appearing on Meet The Press, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said of the debt ceiling issue: “I’ve spent a lot of time with Republicans and Democrats on this–you know, I saw the Senate Finance Committee last week–and they absolutely understand the stakes in this. And the leadership understand that you can’t play around with this, you can’t take it too long. And those people up there who are telling people that you can take this to the brink because it gives them some leverage, they’re going to own the responsibility for the risk that creates for the American economy.”
Ryan: No ‘Rubber Stamp’ For Debt Increase
Appearing on Face The Nation, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) said that Republicans would not agree to an increase in the debt ceiling without concessions on spending. “Nobody wants to play around with the country’s credit rating. Nobody wants to see defaults happening – but we also think it’s important to get a handle on future borrowing as we deal with raising the debt limit,” said Ryan. He also added: “We shouldn’t accept the premise that we have to rubber stamp a debt increase without any spending controls.”
Warner: Don’t ‘Roll The Dice’ On Debt Ceiling
Appearing on Face The Nation, Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) said it was “dangerous” to “roll the dice” on the debt ceiling. “You get close to that debt limit and you could actually scare the bond markets,” said Warner. “They could end up raising interest rates which would dramatically cut back on the recovery, not just in terms of the government spending but somebody going out trying to get a loan, trying to close on a house, a company trying to hire a new employee.”
Rand Paul: Conservatives Have To Cut Military, Liberals Have To Cut Welfare
Appearing on State of the Union, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said that both sides would have to compromise on what parts of the budget to cut. “The compromise is for conservatives to admit that the military budget’s going to have to be cut,” Paul said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “Liberals will have to compromise and will have to cut domestic welfare.” However, he also added: “The compromise is where we cut, not where we raise taxes.”
Coburn On ‘Gang of Six’ Debt Talks: ‘Nobody Is Going To Like What We Come Up With’
Appearing on Fox News Sunday, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) discussed the bipartisan “Gang of Six” negotiations on the debt. “I think there’s a good chance that we’ll be able to come up with a bipartisan agreement that people can swallow,” said Coburn. “Nobody is going to like what we come up with. The left isn’t going to like it and the right isn’t going to like it. And that’s one thing that would be an indicator that is probably the best compromise we’re going to be able to get. So, I think there’s a good likelihood that we can get there. It’s not a sure thing.”
Trump: ‘My Net Worth Is Many, Many, Many Times Mitt Romney’
Appearing on State of the Union, Donald Trump boasted that he is much richer than his potential Republican presidential rival, Mitt Romney. “I’m a much bigger business man and have (a) much, much bigger net worth. I mean, my net worth is many, many, many times Mitt Romney,” said Trump. “I built a very big net worth and I’d like to put that ability…to work for this country.”
