Rep. Pence Appears on FOX News' "Your World with Neil Cavuto"

Interview

On What Happens if the Debt Ceiling is Not Raised

"We have an obligation to defend the full faith and credit of the United States of America but we also have an obligation to restore the confidence of the American people in our ability to manage our fiscal health and to end this era of borrowing and spending that's putting an enormous burden on our children and grandchildren. We can do both. House Republicans believe that the pathway forward is to cut spending now more than a dollar for any increase in the debt ceiling; it means putting statutory caps on the books. And I believe that any increase in the debt ceiling should be contingent on sending a Balanced Budget Amendment to the states. So those are the conditions. I know that's being communicated to the White House this very hour, and we are hoping the President will start to listen.

On the Need for the President to Lead

"Well, you know, it really is frustrating. I said on the House floor today that we've reached an impasse, as the President and his Administration have insisted on adding tax increases to a debate over the debt ceiling. And I think what Speaker John Boehner said today -- I'm sure what's being delivered -- is first and foremost, the American people know this is the President's problem more than anyone else's. The President is the chief executive of our government; he has an obligation to make sure that the government pays its bills; and also, quite frankly, we're in this mess because of the runaway spending and the failed economic policies of the Obama Administration. So, it is now incumbent on the President to stop essentially talking down to the Congress and dictating what his terms will be on the debt ceiling; he needs to own up to this and he needs to recognize it is his responsibility to find out what we need on Capitol Hill to agree to a debt ceiling increase. And that, very simply, is to cut spending now, to cap spending in the law, and to send a Balanced Budget Amendment to the states.

On Proposals in the Senate

"I just heard a little bit about it in the last couple of hours. It is an incremental plan that, again, would require the administration, from what I understand, Chris, to put out a list of budget cuts to offset any increase in the debt ceiling. We have got to stop digging this hole. The American people know that we have to maintain the full faith and credit of the United States of America. But at a $14 trillion national debt and counting, the American people want us to stop piling red ink on our children and grandchildren. At minimum, it seems to me what Senator McConnell is talking about is that you could authorize a short-term increase in the debt ceiling but demand that the White House come out with a deal.

"My bottom line is that we need to see leadership from the leader of this government. We need to see this President step up and put out a plan that will essentially draw the Congress forward. It is his responsibility to lead this government, and as he said five years ago when he was a Senator, when there is a debt crisis - whenever we face a moment where we have to raise the debt ceiling - he said, then, of the Bush Administration, that it is a debt crisis but it is also a failure leadership. What we need to see now is for the President to recognize this is his problem; it is his responsibility; he needs to come to the Congress and say, 'What do you need for us to figure out how we can do this together in the best interests of the American people?'

On the Need for a Balanced Budget Amendment

"I think this is true of most House Republicans; it's not a matter of politics or putting our political legacy on the line. We are putting the well-being of future generations of Americans on the line if we don't change this path toward fiscal insolvency we are going to go ten years down the road kicking the can and we are going to wake up and face the same problems that Greece is facing and Portugal is facing and Ireland is facing. We need to take a step back now, seize this moment to introduce real fiscal discipline and real reform. Cut spending dollar for dollar, cap spending in the law and then it's time for a Balanced Budget Amendment to be sent to the states for ratification.

On What the American People Think

"Well, I think the American people are better informed about Washington D.C. than in any time in my or your lifetime. We have a couple trillion dollars coming in yet into the federal government; the president would have the ability to provide for the common defense; to provide for all of our entitlements and pay the national debt with the $2.2 trillion we got coming in. This is the same old tired game in Washington D.C. and I think the American people see right through it. The people I am talking to as I travel across the state of Indiana, virtually on a daily basis these days, are alarmed about this mountain rage of debt which is a result of the borrowing, the spending, the bailouts and the takeovers of this administration and the last Congress and they are the result of the failed economic policies of this administration. That's why we are saying the president owns this problem he needs to stop trying to dictate terms, like higher taxes to the Congress. He needs to come to the Congress and say, 'What do you all need on behalf of the American people for us to honor the full faith and credit of the United States, but restore confidence in our commitment of fiscal responsibility and reform?' And that very simply again, more than a dollar in cuts for any dollar increase in the debt ceiling, statutory caps, and the time has come to make any increase in the debt ceiling contingent on sending a Balanced Budget Amendment to the states."

Source