Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said Sunday that President Biden’s invitation to Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to discuss the debt ceiling is a “good thing.”
“That’s a good thing,” Kaine told Margaret Brennan on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “I’m very, very happy that the president and Speaker McCarthy are talking. That’s really positive.”
Biden and McCarthy are expected to meet to talk about the debt ceiling, which needs to be raised in the coming months to avoid a default. The White House wants Congress to raise the debt ceiling without implementing spending cuts, but Republicans have signaled that they will use the debt ceiling issue to negotiate more spending cuts.
“I don’t think anyone should flirt with not paying the U.S. credit card, which is what Republicans are doing,” Kaine said. “So the White House position is correct. We should raise the debt ceiling.”
Kaine also said that Republicans should put what they want to cut, like Social Security and Medicare, “on the table” to show Americans what their priorities are.
“But if Republicans are saying they won’t do it, and they’re threatening our credit worthiness because they want cuts, let them put cuts on the table,” he said.
Kaine also said that he and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Or.) sponsored the Protect our CREDIT Act, which if passed, would allow the president to increase the debt limit unless Congress disapproves of it. He said that this bill is the “right solution” to the debt ceiling issue.
“We have a bill called the Protect our CREDIT Act, that would basically say the President has got to cover the debts of the United States,” Kaine said. “And if that includes raising the debt ceiling, the president can do that. But if Congress disapproves, then you can have an expedited up or down vote in Congress. And I think that’s the right solution to this.”
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