WASHINGTON — The government runs out of money of Thursday. If the lawmakers can’t agree on a spending measure by then, the government will shut down leaving thousands of federal workers without work.
The issue is a disagreement over the country’s borrowing limit. Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana is one of all the Republicans in the Senate who say that they will not vote to raise the debt ceiling.
“If it doesn’t have a true pay for, like an offset or a new stream of funding, I’m going to vote against it,” Braun told MSNBC. “I want to see the place reformed where you vote on principle, not on policies that you’ll roll over for if you like it.”
Braun said Congress has essentially gotten out of control when it comes to spending. The debt ceiling as it stands now is at $28 trillion, and the national debt is getting close to that benchmark.
Braun was quick to give his own party a lot of the blame for the spending.
“If we’re cutting taxes and still spending like drunken sailors, shame on us. That’s what both parties have done,” said Braun. “I’d love to see a balanced budget amendment. Of course, nobody wants to do that. They campaign on it and then have amnesia once they get here.”
Braun adding that Republicans will not back down because Democrats have the power to push a suspension of the debt ceiling through. But, the measure does need to get through a Senate filibuster requiring 60 votes to advance to debate.
Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer is urging Republicans to “get out of the way.”
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