Sean Sullivan
Washington Post
October 7, 2013
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Sunday that it’s “irresponsible” for President Obama and his allies to be talking about the prospect of defaulting if the debt ceiling isn’t raised by a key deadline later this month.
“I think it’s irresponsible of the president and his men to even talk about default. There’s no reason for us to default. We bring in $250 billion in taxes every month. Our interest payment is $20 billion. Tell me why we would ever default,” Paul said on NBC’s “Meet The Press.” “We have legislation called the Full Faith and Credit Act, and it tells the president you must pay the interest on the debt. So this is a game.”
The government will hit its borrowing authority on Oct. 17 according to the Treasury. On Sunday, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew warned of dire consequences if lawmakers don’t pass a debt ceiling increase. And he pushed back against those who say the administration is stirring up too much hype.
“Anyone who thinks that the United States government not paying its bills is anything less than default hasn’t thought about it very clearly,” Lew said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
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