Gardner suggests using debt limit to shrink government

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by: Jason Salzman

(Drown it in the bathtub, redux – Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Sen. Cory Gardner.

On a conservative radio show yesterday, U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) proposed tying any increase in the U.S. debt limit to reducing government regulations, raising the specter of stock market gyrations and economic problems that have accompanied uncertainty about America’s commitment making payments on its debt in the past.

“Why don’t we put a measure in place that says, ‘If you increase the debt a dollar, then you have to decrease the regulatory burden by 15 percent or something like that,'” Gardner told KNUS 710-AM’host Krista Kafer Tuesday (at 48 min 25 sec. here). “Let’s make sure that we’re able to say, ‘You know what, if you’re going to do this, let’s make real government reforms happen and possible.”

Gardner pointed out that the federal government will have to extend the U.S. debt limit this summer.

Gardner once suggested linking any increase in the debt limit to cutting Obamacare, even saying he’d force a government shut down to do so. He later backtracked on this stance.

Gardner’s proposal would certainly be controversial, possibly causing anxiety and delay in Congress, and it appears to run counter to Trump Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s desire to raise the debt limit quickly.

“As I said in my confirmation hearing, honoring the full faith and credit of our outstanding debt is a critical commitment,” Mnuchin said recently in a letter to congressional leaders. “I encourage Congress to raise the debt limit at the first opportunity so that we can proceed with our joint priorities.”

During the campaign, Trump said it was “worth a fight” to stop any increase in the debt limit–a position that U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman has also held in the past, once saying he didn’t think it would be a “huge deal” to go over the so-called “fiscal cliff” and not extend the debt limit.

5 thoughts on “Gardner suggests using debt limit to shrink government”

RepealAndReplace says:

April 5, 2017 at 11:34 am

Didn't Gardner also co-sign a letter warning House Republicans not to mess with the expansion of Medicaid under Obamacare? Bob Beauprez would be proud!

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JohnInDenver says:

April 5, 2017 at 12:18 pm

These folks seem to overlook recent history …

"In 2011 we didn't end up with a government shutdown but we still lost 1% of GDP that quarter and the stock markets dipped 16%," he said."

Bloomberg in 2013

" Failure by the world’s largest borrower to pay its debt — unprecedented in modern history — will devastate stock markets from Brazil to Zurich, halt a $5 trillion lending mechanism for investors who rely on Treasuries, blow up borrowing costs for billions of people and companies, ravage the dollar and throw the U.S. and world economies into a recession that probably would become a depression "

Actual results in these two instances showed the impact of a refusal to increase authority to pay the debt already incurred.

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notaskinnycook says:

April 5, 2017 at 12:53 pm

Wel, well well… It looks like one of the Yam's guys has more sense than the boss, Who'da thunk?

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Pseudonymous says:

April 5, 2017 at 1:26 pm

Why don’t we put a measure in place that says, ‘If you increase the debt a dollar, then you have to decrease the regulatory burden by 15 percent'

Because we'd only have to increase the debt by seven bucks before we ran out of regulations and had to start thinking up new ones to kill?

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Voyageur says:

April 5, 2017 at 1:36 pm

Okay, so Cory freezes my Social Security Check. In turn, I don't pay my mortgage. The bank lays off its staff, so they can't meet their car payments. Ford lays off 50,000 autoworkers, who can't order anything on Amazon, which lays off 100,000 workers. Moddy's mom evicts him from her basement because she needs to rent it to a paying customer.

We all have a good laugh at Moddy's expense, but pols folds the next day because it can't get any advertising from Amazon.

Does anybody but Carnholio think this is a good thing?

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