Washington Post: Sen. Ron Johnson: Secret debt-ceiling process is ‘disgusting’

By Jennifer Rubin

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) is steamed. In a conference call with conservative bloggers this morning he railed against the closed negotiations on the debt ceiling. I asked him what he thought of the prospect of a “grand bargain” with Social Security and Medicare cuts in exchange for tax hikes. He was plainly livid: “It is amazing to me . . . that you reporters have more detail than members of Congress.” He called the behind-closed-doors negotiations “disgusting.” He said tersely that this is definitely not how the process should work. As for the prospect of tax hikes he observed that when “the Democrats had a super-majority they didn’t increase taxes and now they want Republicans to do it?”

During the call he repeatedly criticized the scare-mongering of the White House, explaining that there was more than enough revenue to make payments on the debt and make all Social Security payments in the event the debt ceiling were not increased, with $1.6 trillion left over. He noted that the Treasury Department is finally working on a backup plan to prioritize expenditures in the even the debt ceiling isn’t raised. He cautioned that if there is a default or missed Social Security payments, “That’s a choice they are making.” He added, “I would be willing to work on a short line of credit” with the White House “as opposed to caving” on a real solution to our fiscal problems. He contends that “no one” is proposing forgoing a debt-ceiling hike for a year, but for days or weeks the government could get by without defaulting on debt payments, stiffing troops in combat or missing Social Security payments.

Johnson was dismissive of the notion that the president could use the 14th Amendment to evade the debt limit. He said that if the president tried this, he would “point this out to the American people” and it would be a front-and-center issue in the 2012 presidential election.

In sum, Johnson came out strongly in favor of the “cut, cap and balance” Republican formula, stressing the need for real cuts in spending followed by statutory limits on spending. (He prefers limits on spending to a percentage of gross domestic product.) But he was also critical of a balanced budget amendment which “may be a tax trap.” What he, and perhaps other Republican lawmakers, won’t stand for is a secret deal that doesn’t solve our real fiscal mess. Republican negotiators had better keep their members updated and open up the process. Otherwise, they may find it impossible to push through a deal, provided they ever reach one with the White House.

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Weekly Standard: Closed Door Debt Ceiling Negotiations “Outrageous,” “Disgusting”

John McCormack

July 7, 2011 11:15 AM

Freshman senator Ron Johnson, Republican from Wisconsin, expressed frustration today that most members of Congress are in the dark on debt ceiling negotiations.

“You reporters have more detail on what’s happening here in Washington on these debt ceiling talks than rank and file members of Congress,” Johnson said on a conference call this morning. “To me, that’s outrageous, disgusting. That’s that is not the way this process should work.”

“We should have followed the law. We should have passed a budget by april 15,” Johnson said. “Paul Ryan presented a budget in the House. Pat Toomey presented his. The Democrats never did. President Obama’s lost 97 to zero.”

“We’re supposed to take a look at some deal that’s struck behind closed doors by a couple individuals that’s going to decide the financial fate of America, and we’re supposed to take two days to take a look at something like that?” Johnson continued. “It’s disgusting, it’s disgusting the way this process is playing out.”

Johnson said there’s no chance that Republicans will agree to tax increases as part of a deal. “When the Democrats had a supermajority in Congress, when they controlled all levers of power here in Washington, they didn’t increase taxes. They couldn’t get that passed. So now they want republicans to do that for them?” he said. “That’s just not going to happen.”

Johnson made it clear that he would agree to vote for a debt ceiling increase if it were paired with spending cuts, a statutory spending cap, and a “constitutional limitation on spending and the size of government. I prefer that to a balanced budget amendment because a balanced budget amendment can be a tax trap.”

He also said that hitting the debt limit is preferable to caving in.  “If we don’t increase the debt ceiling—I don’t think anybody is looking at living under a debt ceiling for an entire year—but as opposed to caving and not getting the fiscal controls, if we had to live under that debt ceiling budget for a couple days or a couple weeks, it wouldn’t be the end of the world if you plan on it.”

Johnson pointed out that the government would have plenty of money to pay interest on the debt to avoid a default, and there would be enough money to pay the troops and entitlement programs. “If this administration misses one payment to a Social Security recipient, one payment to a soldier, one debt payment, that is a choice they are making,” he said.

Full article.

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