The chairman of the Republican Study Committee, Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) criticized media coverage of the debt ceiling debate and called on the Republicans who control the House of Representatives to stand firm on their demands to pair fiscal reform with any deal to raise the debt.
On Thursday, the United States reached its $31.4 trillion debt limit, forcing the U.S. Treasury Department to begin so-called “extraordinary measures” to prevent the United States from defaulting on any national debt payments. Lawmakers are now up against a decision to raise the debt ceiling to allow the United States to continue to take on debt.
Negotiations over if and how the United States will raise the debt ceiling could be protracted by a debate between the Republican-controlled House and Democrat-led U.S. Senate.
In a letter to the 160 members of the Republican Study Committee, Hern encouraged the party in control of the House to force spending reforms before agreeing to let the country take on any more debt. He also criticized news media coverage of the issue, casting news outlets as “irrational” actors and “pundit allies” of the Democrats.
“For weeks, the media has covered the debate surrounding the debt limit with irrational shock and horror,” Hern wrote. “Democrats and their pundit allies have painted Republican efforts to pair budget reforms with legislation increasing the debt limit as reckless and irresponsible.”
Truth About Debt
“Despite the clear and present danger our country faces from its unsustainable debt, a souring economy, and historic inflation, the media wants to hide [from] the American people the truth-we as a nation must reduce spending and usher in serious fiscal reform,” Hern’s letter continued.
Hern’s letter did not specify which media outlets he felt had acted irrationally in their coverage of the debt ceiling or how they were hiding the truth from the public.
Hern did note recent comments by President Joe Biden, who said his critics are “fiscally demented” during his remarks on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Debt Negotiations
The United States reached its debt ceiling less than two weeks after Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) won in his bid to become the leader of the House after 15 votes. While Republicans hold a majority in the House, McCarthy wasn’t able to secure enough Republican votes for speakership without making significant concessions with a group of about 20 holdouts.
Many of the concessions holdout Republicans demanded in exchange for supporting McCarthy’s speakership had to do with how the Republican majority will approach budget and debt debates. Among the concessions was a rule that sets up a separate vote any time Congress wants to raise the debt ceiling and a “cut-as-you-go” measure that prohibits the House from considering legislation that increases mandatory spending within a five-year or ten-year budget window.
McCarthy also implemented a rules package that imposes a 72-hour wait period before the House can vote on a new bill. This specific rule came about after Congress passed a $1.7 trillion omnibus bill consisting of around 4,000 pages, just hours after the bill was formally introduced. The omnibus bill passed largely along partisan lines in the House in December in the final days when the Democrats held control.
The debt ceiling negotiations could test the coalition McCarthy formed to win the House speakership.
McCarthy has called for Biden to negotiate on the debt ceiling.
“If you had a child and you gave them a credit card, and they kept hitting the limit—you wouldn’t just keep increasing it. You’d first see what are you spending your money on? How can we cut items out?” McCarthy said in an interview with Fox News.
‘Without Conditions’
The Biden administration has indicated it expects Congress to raise the debt ceiling without any conditions on spending. In a Wednesday press briefing, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the plans by the Republican-controlled House would worsen inflation and cut entitlement programs.
“They’re going to vote to raise gas prices and deprive Americans of relief at the pump,” Jean-Pierre said. “And they’re threatening to kill millions of jobs and 401(k) plans by trying to hold the debt limit hostage unless they can, again, cut Social Security, cut Medicare, cut Medicaid.”
She said in the past both Republican and Democratic administrations in Congress have passed measures to raise the debt ceiling without additional conditions on spending. She said, “This is something that should be happening without conditions.”
In his Thursday letter, Hern wrote that the political left “wants you to believe that its unheard of to institute budget reforms within legislation to raise the debt limit. In fact, numerous major bi-partisan reforms to rein in spending have been made in conjunction with raising the debt limit.” Hern said, “Virtually every major deficit reduction law has been attached to a debt limit increase.”
