Liberal Forum

Mike Pences Debt Ceiling Flip-FlopRep. Mike Pence (R-IN) said on Sunday, I will not support an increase in the debt ceiling without real and meaningful changes in spending in the short-term and in the long-term. However, back in 2002 Pence felt very differently about the debt ceiling. During a speech on the House floor, Pence said that the debt ceiling needs to be increased because failure to do so could threaten Social Security benefits. I truly believe if you owe debts, pay debts, Pence said:PENCE: I rise today as a conservative Member of this institution, Mr. Speaker. I did not come here to increase the governments debt. I came here believing, as so many people I represent believe, that if you owe debts, pay debts.I spoke to an elderly woman on a radio program in Richmond, Indiana, today, in the heart of the heartland district that I represent. And Mr. Speaker, she said with fear in her voice that she was worried that a conservative like me would not support raising the debt ceiling and would put at risk her Social Security check. She assumed that my loathing of red ink would cause me to vote in such a way or fail to act in such a way that it would jeopardize her benefits and the benefits of people that she loves.Well, I assured her then and I rise today to assure all those that are listening, Mr. Speaker, that I will not do that. I truly believe if you owe debts, pay debts.Pence is far from the only Republican who once found raising the debt ceiling to be a noncontroversial task worthy of wide support, but now wants to extract concessions in return for doing it.VideoChuck Grassleys Debt Ceiling Flip-FlopSen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), in keeping with other GOP lawmakers, recently stated that the GOP should not vote to increase the debt limit unless Democrats and President Obama make major concessions on federal spending cuts. That position, however, is exactly opposite the one he took in 2006, when he urged his Senate colleagues to unanimously vote to increase the debt limit, saying it should not be used to control government debt and deficits.In a recent interview with Newsmax TV, Grassley said the GOP should use the vote as leverage to get a lot of things done on spending and budgetary changes:GRASSLEY: My take is that we should have thought about not increasing the debt limit before we spent the money. []But the point is, weve got tremendous leverage by not increasing the debt to get a lot of things done that we want done tackling entitlements and tackling a constitutional amendment requiring a balance budget. I support moving in both of those areas.But in March 2006, Grassley took the polar opposite position to the one he is taking now. Before the Senate ultimately voted to increase the debt limit to $8.965 trillion, then-Senate Finance Chairman Grassley told his colleagues that the debt limit was not an accurate predictor of future fiscal problems, and that they should not use it to make assumptions about those problems. The Senate should not have an extended debate about the issue, Grassley said, because not increasing the debt limit is a choice that we shouldnt make and we wouldnt want to make: GRASSLEY: Given these facts, it should be obvious to everyone that the federal debt limit provides a misleading and inaccurate picture of the governments future liabilities. Efforts to use the statutory debt limit to control government debt and deficits cannot succeed because it ignores the long-term budget problems. []And so I would hope we would not have an extended debate and a lot of breast-beating about the issue of increasing the national debt. Now there will be a lot of debate about it, a lot of political points trying to be made, but the point is, weve got to keep the business of government going. []This ought to pass unanimously. It wont. But it ought to.During the presidency of George W. Bush, Grassley viewed the debt limit increase as such a non-issue that he admonished his Senate colleagues for not voting for it unanimously. Now, however, hes willing to play politics on the issue just like the rest of his party.LinkDuring Bush Presidency, Current GOP Leaders Voted 19 Times To Increase Debt Limit By $4 Trillion At the beginning of the Bush presidency, the United States debt limit was $5.95 trillion. Despite promises that he would pay off the debt in 10 years, Bush increased the debt to $9.815 trillion by the end of his term, with plenty of help from the four Republicans currently holding Congressional leadership positions: Speaker John Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl. ThinkProgress compiled a breakdown of the five debt limit increases that took place during the Bush presidency and how the four Republican leaders voted:June 2002: Congress approves a $450 billion increase, raising the debt limit to $6.4 trillion. McConnell, Boehner, and Cantor vote yea, Kyl votes nay.May 2003: Congress approves a $900 billion increase, raising the debt limit to $7.384 trillion. All four approve.November 2004: Congress approves an $800 billion increase, raising the debt limit to $8.1 trillion. All four approve.March 2006: Congress approves a $781 billion increase, raising the debt limit to $8.965 trillion. All four approve.September 2007: Congress approves an $850 billion increase, raising the debt limit to $9.815 trillion. All four approve.Database searches revealed no demands from the four legislators that debt increases come accompanied by drastic spending cuts, as there are now. In fact, the May 2003 debt limit increase passed the Senate the same day as the $350 billion Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. When Bush was in office, the current Republican leaders viewed increasing the debt limit as vital to keeping Americas economy running. But with Obama in the White House, its nothing more than a political pawn.Link