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Senator Jon Kyl delivers weekly GOP address on the debt crisis - July 30, 2011
Delivering the weekly GOP address on the debt crisis, US Senate Republican Whip Jon Kyl says: "By now, most Americans know that lawmakers in Washington are engaged in a difficult debate about the nation's "debt ceiling," the legal limit to the amount of money the federal government can borrow. The debt ceiling is currently set at a little more than 14 trillion dollars, and if Congress and the President don't reach an agreement to raise it by this coming Tuesday, the Treasury Secretary tells us America will no longer be able to pay all its bills. The consequences of missing this deadline could be severe, precisely because Washington borrows so much money -- more than 40 cents out of every dollar it spends. So, spending would have to shrink by 40 percent very quickly. What's more, markets would likely respond, dropping in value and hurting the retirement savings of millions of Americans. Republicans have tried to work with Democrats to avoid this result and put our country on a better path, but we need them to work with us. We start from the understanding that the reason the debt ceiling is a problem is because of runaway Washington spending. So, Republicans have been united in the belief that raising the debt ceiling without making significant spending reductions would be irresponsible. With debt crises rolling across Europe, we know it is only a matter of time before people start to question whether America can sustain its huge and growing debt. If we don't do something ... From: SenJonKyl Views: 515 17 ratings Time: 04:24 More in News & Politics