Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., warned Sunday that there is a concerning risk of a default on the federal government’s debts if Democrats and Republicans are unable to compromise on raising the nation’s rapidly approaching borrowing limit.
“I think it is a real threat that both sides have to take serious,” Bacon told ABC “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl.
“The Republicans were largely elected to get control of reckless funding. That’s the mission that their voters have given them. So, when President [Joe] Biden says he’s going to refuse to negotiate with Republicans on any concessions, I don’t think that’s right either,” Bacon said, referring to Biden’s vow not to tie a debt ceiling increase to cuts to government programs like Medicare and Social Security.
Some conservatives have said they want a deal on the borrowing limit to include a decrease on spending, reviving a similar strategy used during the Obama administration.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy contended last week that the government needed to change its spending, some of which he called “wasteful.”
Bacon on Sunday said that the White House and Democratic lawmakers must come to the table, but the narrow divide in Congress means the goal should be compromise for both parties.
“On our side, we have to realize, we control the House … the Senate is run by the Democrats … and the president is obviously from the Democrat Party, so we can’t get everything we want either,” Bacon said.
Concerns over the debt ceiling spiked when Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told congressional leaders last week that the U.S. would likely hit the $31.4 trillion limit on Thursday.
After that, Yellen said, the government would use “extraordinary measures” and its current cash flow to stave off a default for several months, likely until at least June. The temporary measures could include cuts to investing in government employees’ retirement funds.
Ultimately, the only way to avoid default is if Congress authorizes more borrowing. The Biden administration has said it will seek to pass only a “clean” increase in the limit without any related cuts.

Abcnews