Press Staff Blog

Washington Post: Dear House Republicans: Raise the debt limit for your hero Ronald Reagan’s sake

Wanted to make sure you all saw this post in the Washington Post’s Plum Line blog about how House Republicans are so dug in on the deficit issue, they are not even willing to listen to Ronald Reagan.

House GOP Freshman: Out of Touch and Out of Time

With less than two weeks to go before America defaults on its debts, House Republican Freshman are still trying to score political points and push their extreme agenda, even if it means America not paying its bills for the first time. Or even if it means turning on their own party leaders.

As Politico reports:

Hypocrisy Watch: Elected as Cost-Cutters, Freshmen Push Spending for Home Districts

While we’re all focused on talks to ensure America pays its bills and we reduce the deficit, this NY Times article caught our attention. Hypocrisy is alive and well among House Republicans:

GOP Should Take Note: Another Poll Shows Majority of Americans Support Big, Balanced Deal

Now that House Republicans have taken a symbolic vote on their radically ideological “Cut, Cap and End Medicare” bill, perhaps they will listen to the majority of Americans who support a big, balanced agreement and work with Democrats on a compromise that includes both revenues and spending cuts to ensure we pay America’s bills and reduce the deficit.

From the Wall Street Journal:

WSJ/NBC Poll: Americans Take Debt Ceiling Seriously

A WSJ/NBC poll released today shows Republicans who continue to deny the catastrophic consequences of failing to pay our bills are out of touch with the majority of Americans. According to the poll, most Americans believe default would be a “a real and serious problem.” Democrats are committed to avoiding the consequences of default and continue to advocate for a large, balanced package to reduce the deficit and ensure we pay our nation’s bills.

White House Blog: An Unbalanced Approach to Deficit Reduction

Wanted to make sure you all saw this White House blog post on Republicans’ “Cut, Cap and End Medicare” bill, an extreme proposal that increases our chances of default and makes the same drastic cuts as the Republican budget, which ends Medicare and drastically cuts Medicaid, while preserving tax breaks for the wealthy. Democrats continue to urge Republicans to work with us so that we can enact a large agreement to reduce the deficit and ensure America pays its bills.

Major Credit Rating Agencies Reiterate Threat of Downgrade

This afternoon, Fitch Ratings announced it will place the U.S. credit rating in “ratings watch negative,” which could lead to a credit rating downgrade if America fails to pay its bills.

Meet the New GOP Plan to End Medicare, Same as the Old GOP Plan to End Medicare

We here in the Democratic Whip Press shop will give Republicans credit for their transparency. They are not even trying to hide the fact that their “Cut, Cap and End Medicare” bill would end the program’s guarantee.

Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Jordan said yesterday the plan “basically mirrors the budget proposal that the House passed this year.”

Roll Call: Default Could Blunt GOP Deficit Goals

Republicans concerned about reducing the deficit should take note of this article in Roll Call today that explains how failure to pay our nation’s bills would actually increase the deficit and “push the economy back into recession.” Though Republicans claim that deficit reduction is one of their top priorities and argue that it is critical to boosting the economy and creating jobs, they are bringing a bill to the Floor this week tha

Politico: Default Could 'Sink the Whole Boat'

Wanted to be sure you saw this article in Politico today on the consequences of failing to pay our nation’s bills. Republicans need to take these warnings from financial experts seriously and work with us on a big, balanced agreement to ensure we pay our bills, reduce the deficit and avoid these catastrophic consequences of default.

Key Excerpts: