Letter to John Boehner, Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives, and Eric Cantor, Majority Leader, U.S. House of Representatives

Letter

Congressman Joe Walsh (IL-08) will be delivering a letter tonight, which has 86 co-signatories, to Republican House Leadership urging them to both publicly oppose Senator McConnell's plan to raise the debt ceiling and ensure it never comes to the House floor for a vote.

"We were sent here in November to change the way that Washington does business," said Congressman Walsh. "The McConnell plan is the same old politics as usual -- it enables Congress to avoid making the tough decisions. Fundamental spending reform has to be part of any plan to raise the debt ceiling. I cannot and will not support any plan that punts on this responsibility."

McConnell's plan would authorize President Obama to raise the debt ceiling without Congressional approval. McConnell calls his plan a fall-back so that Republicans are not forced to choose between government default or increasing the debt limit without spending cuts.

"Republicans weren't elected in November to "Cut, Run and Hide', which is exactly what the McConnell Plan does. The plan drags America deeper in debt and fails to rein in federal over-spending and over-borrowing. The House passed a plan that actually addresses Washington's spending problem -- Cut, Cap and Balance. "

A copy of the Letter is below:

Dear Mr. Speaker and Mr. Leader:

The August 2nd deadline is approaching quickly. Americans are losing hope as Congress could again fail on its promise to permanently rein in government spending.

The debt ceiling is intended to control federal spending but Washington continues to simply raise it without considering the consequences. American families have been working through a recession for the past three years by spending less and saving more, yet the federal government continues to spend more money it simply does not have.

Therefore, on behalf of the millions of Americans we represent, we strongly urge you to both publicly oppose Senator McConnell's plan to raise the debt ceiling and ensure it never comes to the House floor for a vote.

The McConnell Plan punts on our duty as Members of the United States Congress. The plan, at its core, would allow the President to raise the debt ceiling on his own in exchange for insufficient spending cuts and a congressional "expression of disapproval." McConnell's plan supersedes the rights of the American people. The only way for average American families to act on the debt ceiling is through their elected representatives in Congress.

We understand Senator Mitch McConnell's frustration with the debt ceiling debate, but his plan enables Congress to avoid making the hard decisions. This plan is nothing more than politics as usual: it passes the buck to President Obama and robs the American people of their voice in Congress. If we are going to continue saddling innocent Americans with more and more debt, they must be included in the discussion. Senator McConnell's plan is business as usual and does not offer any real solution to runaway spending.

We appreciate you hearing our concerns and look forward to working with you in getting this nation's fiscal house in order.