By Associated Press
Louisville, KY – A Kentucky congressman said Sunday that House Speaker John Boehner is trying to resolve the debt crisis while sticking to principles of a tea party-backed spending plan that would cut trillions in federal spending.
Rep. Brett Guthrie was part of a conference call Sunday in which House leaders updated rank-and-file GOP members on the on-again-off-again negotiations over raising the nation's debt limit. The update came as a sharply divided Congress prepares for a decisive week of talks aimed at preventing an unprecedented default on the U.S. debt.
With an Aug. 2 government default bearing down on Congress and the White House, Guthrie said that Boehner is trying to "stay within the principles" of legislation dubbed "Cut, Cap and Balance." That plan seeks to slice federal spending by $6 trillion and require a constitutional balanced budget amendment be sent to the states in exchange for averting the government default.
The plan passed the GOP-led House last week but stalled in the Senate and President Barack Obama has threatened to veto it.
"The speaker said now he's going to deal with Senate leadership ... to come up with a plan that we can get to the president's desk hopefully by Aug. 2 that lives within the principles of `cut, cap and balance,'" Guthrie told The Associated Press in a phone interview.
Economists warn that a default on U.S. debt would send interest rates soaring. But Guthrie said a failure to curtail spending will have the same effect, which would raise interest on a variety of consumer and business loans.
Guthrie represents Kentucky's 2nd District, which covers portions of central and western Kentucky. He said Congress needs to both raise the debt limit and substantially reduce deficits.
"If we don't reform the way we spend, we're going to have a downgrade in our credit - and we're going to have increased interest rates equal to the same problem as default," Guthrie said. "Addressing one without the other is just not good for the American people."
Guthrie said Boehner expressed resolve to get an agreement to avert a government default. But Guthrie, who was headed back from a parade in his district when he patched into the conference call, wouldn't speculate on the outcome.
"It's hard to predict every scenario that's going to happen and what people are going to be willing to do," he said.