Two area Congressman have voted against raising the nation’s debt ceiling Tuesday evening. 13th District Congressman Rodney Davis and 18th District Congressman Darin LaHood joined their 209 Republican colleagues in voting against a bill that would prevent a government shutdown and suspend the country’s debt limit. Democratic lawmakers say that if Republicans don’t get on board with the bill in the Senate, it could possibly cause a first-ever default on the country’s debt, leading to an economic collapse.
Davis, in a statement released yesterday morning characterizes the bill now heading to the Senate as reckless spending. Davis says: “Democrats are threatening to shut down the government unless Congress gives them a blank check suspension of the debt ceiling to pass their reckless $3.5 trillion tax-and-spending plan. That is downright irresponsible and dangerous.” Davis says that Democrats should drop the bill and create what he calls a clean government funding bill instead.
GOP lawmakers during the Trump administration voted three times to suspend the debt ceiling, causing the country’s national debt to increase by roughly $7.8 trillion according to the Washington Post. The U.S. Treasury says if the debt ceiling isn’t raised, the government won’t be able to pay its bills beginning sometime in early October. The treasury says a spending plan needs to be passed by the end of the month to avoid a government shutdown.