GOP Sen. John McCain is warning that Congressional Republicans would again hold the nation hostage when it comes time to raising the debt limit, if their demands are not met in relation to massive cuts to Medicare and Social Security.
McCain threw out this dire warning in an interview with CNN on Monday, thinkprogress.org reports. McCain’s remarks were in lock-step with Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham of South Carolina.
But President Obama, speaking late on Monday night after the House of Representatives passed the fiscal cliff deal had his own warning for Congress saying, the debt limit wasn’t up for debate.
“While I will negotiate over many things, I will not have another debate with this Congress about whether or not they should pay the bills they have already racked up,” said Obama from the White House.
In 2011, the standoff between Republicans and Democrats in Congress over lifting the debt limit led to a downgrade of the nation’s credit rating and chaos in stock markets.
A July report by the Government Accountability Office said the 2011 debt ceiling debate cost taxpayers $1.3 billion because of the uncertainty it brought, CNN Money reports.
On Monday, the Treasury Department officially reported that the U.S. debt had reached its legal borrowing limit.
Congress has about two months, or until the end of February, to undertake “extraordinary measures,” before the debt ceiling is raised or the U.S. defaults on its financial obligations.
