After House Republicans unveiled their new strategy to use the debt ceiling as leverage to force Senate Democrats to pass a budget, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) backed up their call for Democrats to do so.
He said in a Friday statement that the debt ceiling debate is “the perfect time” to address the “out-of-control Washington spending.”
“For nearly four years, the Senate Democrat leadership has prevented this body from performing its most basic of duties: passing a federal budget. That is a shameful record that needs to end this year. It’s time to stop governing by crisis and stop-gap measure; the American people expect the Senate to finally pass a budget. Moreover, instead of hiding from tough votes, Senate Democrats should also return to regular order and transparency in the legislative process by allowing committees and the public the opportunity they rightly deserve to properly scrutinize legislation before it comes to a vote.
“It’s not the discussion about the debt and budget failures that has put our nation’s credit rating at risk—it’s the unsustainable debt, the out-of-control Washington spending, and the failure to budget that got us here. It’s time to change, and the debt ceiling discussion is the perfect time for that debate.”