7/15/2011 Republican Leadership Press Conference
Republican Leadership Press Conference
July 15, 2011
Participants:
Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)
Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA)
Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)
Conference Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX)
Conference Vice Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA)
Republican Policy Committee Chairman Tom Price (R-GA)
Chairman Hensarling:
“Just in case anybody missed it, last night Moody’s issued a new statement about the debt limit:
‘If the debt limit is raised again and a default avoided, the AAA rating would likely be confirmed. However, the outlook assigned at that time to the government bond rating would very likely be changed to negative at the conclusion of the review unless substantial and credible agreement is achieved on a budget that includes long-term deficit reduction. To retain a stable outlook, such an agreement should include a deficit trajectory that leads to stabilization and then decline in the ratios of federal government debt to GDP and debt to revenue beginning within the next few years.’
“Rough translation: there is no more road left to kick the can down. We have a debt crisis not because the debt ceiling is too low but because the debt is too high. It is spending-driven. Our president and the previous Congress have been on a spending binge. If they want an increase in the debt ceiling vote, as the Speaker has said, they have got to cut up the credit cards. The president needs to put a plan on the table, not a speech. As the director of CBO has said, we cannot estimate a speech, we can only estimate a plan. It is time for the president to put his plan on the table.”
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For additional information, contact:
House Republican Conference Press Office (conferencepress@mail.house.gov)
