CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: Debt Limit

Interview

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BLITZER: We've got deficit spending actually going back to 2000, to the end of the Bill Clinton administration, the start of the George W. Bush administration. But go ahead and respond, Congressman Becerra, to what you just heard.

REP. XAVIER BECERRA (D), CALIFORNIA: It's tough to respond, Wolf, because that's why we're in this situation. We have very hard-core group of members who believe contrary to all the evidence, contrary to all the experts, that if you just go ahead and stop paying for your past bills, that it's OK. That is playing with fire and it's unfortunate because those who believe they can play with fire here in Congress don't recognize that the folks who are going to get burned aren't the folks in Congress.

We make a pretty good wage. It's every American family that has to pay their bills day to day, month to month. They're the ones that are looking at us and saying, wait a minute, I pay my bills because I know if I'm going to keep my mortgage or keep my car, I've got to pay my bills.

All of a sudden, Congress is saying to the world, the American government is going to stop paying for its bills, for the Iraq war, the Afghanistan war, for our troops that are out there today, for all the services that we provide to our seniors, to our veterans.

That's why we are where we are. We are watching this family feud among Republicans, between the right and the far right, about what to do and it's hurting Americans.

BLITZER: All right. Congressman Yoho, explain what you meant by this quote that we read the other day, too, because it's directly related. "Someone needs to convince me why we need to raise the debt ceiling."

You don't understand why for 50 years or whatever it's been, the U.S. has been forced to raise that debt ceiling every year or two?

YOHO: No, I want to respond to what Congressman Becerra because it ties right into this.

BLITZER: Go ahead.

YOHO: I mean, we're where we're at today because we haven't addressed these problems. Nobody says we're going to default. Nobody has said that we're not going to pay our bills. You know, constitutionally, we cannot default. So we're going to pay the bills, we're going to pay our veterans, we're going to pay that, so to say that is being disingenuous.

BLITZER: All right. Let's let Congressman Becerra respond. Go ahead.

BECERRA: Wolf, the reason you have to have a debt limit increase is because we are right now recovering from a very deep recession and if -- if the Republicans didn't want our troops to have the uniforms that they need, to have the equipment they need to protect themselves, then they shouldn't have voted last year for a budget that provided them that.

If they didn't want for veterans to get the services they need after they have come home and left the service, they shouldn't have voted for the budget that provided for that. But today, we're trying to make sure that we cover those past obligations. This isn't anything about future obligations.

All of us are ready to sit down and negotiate what do we do to make sure in the future we have a more fiscally responsible budget, but to start to tell our veterans and our seniors on Social Security and our troops in Afghanistan today that we are going to stop paying last month's bills because Republicans are trying to make a point about the future, is crazy.

BLITZER: All right. Go ahead, Congressman Yoho.

YOHO: No, he's off base. Nobody is saying we're not going to pay our bills. Again, that's why we have a $700 billion deficit, because we spent. What we're saying is we're going to honor those obligations that we have and any debt ceiling increase would have to be to pay that deficit spending, but not spend on new spending or new programs.

I mean, that would be ridiculous, especially when you look at we're at $17 trillion in debt and if you add just what we're going to add to Social Security with 10,000 baby boomers -- retiring a day, that's going to add over $1 trillion within nine years to our debt. And we've got to address this problem and say, you know what, we get it, this is a time we've got to make some hard choices and people that have been in Congress for a long time, the career politicians, either led us to where we are at or they failed to prevent it because they're --

BLITZER: All right.

YOHO: They are not willing to stand up and address these hard issues.

BLITZER: Let me -- let me ask you both a question that they're talking about in the White House right now. This six-week limited extension until November 22nd.

First to you, Congressman Becerra, are you open to -- to raising the nation's debt ceiling for six weeks, until November 22nd, but the government would still remain shut down, and -- but negotiations presumably would continue?

BECERRA: Again, it's crazy the way we're trying to run the government. Let's put it this way.

YOHO: I agree.

BECERRA: Not the smallest business on main street would run this way on a six-week basis. Why should the largest economy be run this way? This is like a banana republic that we see Republicans treating the American government the way banana republics were run.

But to the point that Mr. Yoho made, don't believe me that by not allowing us to move forward and pay our past bills is going to be a problem. Talk to your own Republican colleagues who are saying to so many Republicans, stop doing this to the economy, let's move forward, and so what Democrats are saying is Republicans are meeting today with the president is let's stop this posturing, let us have a vote.

We know that today there exists Republicans and Democrats alike that as a majority in the House would pass a clean vote to not only move forward on paying our past bills, but also on reopening the government so Americans can get back to work.

BLITZER: All right. Congressman Yoho, if the speaker allows that vote to come up, a six-week extension, raise the debt ceiling for six weeks, in the meantime talks will continue, will you vote yay or nay?

YOHO: I'd have to look and see what else is in that. I can't answer that until I see what's in that. But again, hitting a debt ceiling is not an automatic trigger to raise -- or to a default. If we can service our debt without borrowing money, why don't we just go until we have to borrow the money. To borrow money in this government with people that have been here since 1993, what you're looking at is giving an open credit card to people --

(CROSSTALK)

BECERRA: That's a pay China first policy. You're going to pay China first before you pay Social Security recipients, you're going to pay China first --

YOHO: No, sir. No --

BECERRA: -- before you pay our veterans for their services that they need, that they earned.

YOHO: Absolutely not. We're going to --

BECERRA: Sure you are. Our creditors are folks like China and Japan and --

YOHO: They are.

BECERRA: -- you're not going to put Social Security recipients and our veterans before them because you say pay our creditors first.

YOHO: No, absolutely not. We've got the money coming in to pay that. And you know that. You're being disingenuous to tell the American people that we're not going to pay Social Security or our veterans. The federal government -- BECERRA: They don't have enough dollars in the bank account right now to pay China, Japan, all those creditors, along with our Social Security recipients, veterans, and keep all the services moving.

YOHO: Again --

BECERRA: So you would have to prioritize which is what many Republicans are talking about, and many Republicans are talking about prioritizing those creditors before Social Security recipients and veterans.

YOHO: Absolutely.

BECERRA: And we're saying let's just move forward and rather than hold hostage veterans and seniors and our kids, let's move forward together and deal with future obligations, but let's not --

YOHO: That's one of those --

BECERRA: Let's not default on our previous obligations --

BLITZER: All right.

BECERRA: -- Republicans and Democrats voted for.

YOHO: And we're not -- we are not going to default. And that's one of those words I hear a lot coming out from one side.

BECERRA: Just give us a vote. Ted, just give us a vote.

YOHO: I'm --

BECERRA: Just give us the vote.

(CROSSTALK)

YOHO: We're not --

BECERRA: Why not just give us a vote? Why not put America back to work?

YOHO: Because you're --

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You want to have this conversation by yourself or you want to engage here?

BECERRA: Well, let's just have a vote. Why don't we put a bill on the floor that takes away all the mud and lets us have a clean vote on reopening our government and putting 800,000 Americans back to work, and allowing the economy to move forward?

BLITZER: All right. Very quickly, because we've got to wrap it up.

YOHO: Again, if you go back to the Department of Defense bill that was authorized that people shouldn't have been laid off, so you need to talk to the Senate and the administration why they laid those people off.

BLITZER: All right.

YOHO: But again --

(CROSSTALK)

YOHO: We've got enough money coming in to where we don't have to borrow money at this point in time. And when we hit that point, I would be willing for that moment to raise the debt ceiling to cover that obligation. And we are going to pay Social Security. We are going to pay veterans. And for the other side to say we're not going to, that's a scare tactic and that's not right for the American people.

BECERRA: Wolf, we know --

BLITZER: Congressmen -- all right, Congressmen --

BECERRA: Democrats to get this done.

BLITZER: All right.

BECERRA: So we could have a clean vote today.

BLITZER: Let's see what happens in this meeting that's going on in the White House with the speaker and the president and other Republican leaders right now. Maybe there will be a deal. Maybe there won't be a deal. But let's see what happens.

Congressman Ted Yoho, thanks very much. Xavier Becerra, thanks to you as well.

YOHO: Thank you, sir.

BECERRA: Thank you. Thank you, Ted.

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