American Morning
AM Exclusive: Bachmann a 'no' on Boehner debt plan
In an exclusive interview with American Morning's Kiran Chetry, Republican Presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann says she won't vote for House Speaker John Boehner's debt plan and opposes any plan that increases the debt ceiling.
"All of the plans out there start with the wrong premise...raise the debt ceiling," Bachmann says. "Out on the trail, people are saying 'Government, get your act together and cut spending.' Washington has their fingers in their ears right now. They're not listening to the American people. That's why I'm adamant – I will vote "no" on the increase on the debt ceiling. We need sanity back in Washington."
She went on to say that President Obama has failed to properly understand the issues. "On every measure, this President has failed," she says. "He has a big "F" on his economic report card. He has to take responsibility for the economy because he's the one who has made these decisions. That's not to say President Bush didn't overspend."
Kiran sat down with Bachmann yesterday to talk about her decision to run and how she would fix the nation's debt problems. The full interview will be uploaded throughout the morning. Stay tuned to American Morning for more.
AM Exclusive: Bachmann: Obama 'effectively a dictator' if 14th Amendment is invoked
If President Obama invokes the 14th Amendment to raise the debt ceiling, he would "effectively be a dictator," Republican Presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann says in an exclusive interview with American Morning's Kiran Chetry.
“Congress has the power to lay and collect taxes," Bachmann says. "It's Congress that does the spending. The President is prohibited to do that. If he had the power to do that he would effectively be a dictator. There would be no reason for congress to even come into Washington DC. He would be making the spending decisions. He would be making the tax decisions. Clearly that's unconstitutional.”
With five days until the Aug 2nd deadline, the House is expected to vote on Speaker John Boehner's plan to cut government spending and raise the nation's debt ceiling. And Bachmann, along with a growing number of House Republicans, is saying she doesn't support the Speaker's plan.
Kiran sat down with Bachmann yesterday to talk about her decision to run and how she would fix the nation's debt problems. The full interview will be uploaded throughout the morning. Stay tuned to American Morning for more.
Senator Pat Toomey: 'We ought to have a plan B'
Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey unveiled legislation yesterday that would require the government to promise to pay its interest on its debt, send out Social Security checks and pay active duty military if Congress cannot reach a deal on raising the debt-ceiling by August 2nd.
The bill, called Ensuring the Full Faith and Credit of the U.S., has 31 cosponsors in the Senate and comes at a time when lawmakers are becoming increasingly concerned that a deal will not be reached by next week's deadline.
Today on American Morning, Senator Toomey tells Ali Velshi how he would prioritize spending, offering his take on Speaker Boehner's plan to increase the federal debt-ceiling.
What would a U.S. credit downgrade mean for the economy and the average American?
As fears continue to rise about the U.S. defaulting if lawmakers fail to hash out a plan to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, concerns are also escalating about a potential downgrade of the U.S. credit rating.
Rating agencies - Standard & Poor's, Moody's and Fitch - analyze risk and give debt a "grade" that reflects the borrower's ability to pay the underlying loans.
The U.S. has had the highest credit rating, AAA, since Moody's began assigning ratings in 1917. However, this may change in the near future.
Paul La Monica, assistant managing editor for CNN Money, joins Ali Velshi today on American Morning to weigh in on what a downgrade would mean in terms of U.S. Treasuries, the U.S. consumer and the overall economy.
Rep. Flake: 'We ought to at least have a bill that doesn't get us further down the road'
House Republican leaders were forced to delay a vote on Speaker John Boehner's plan to raise the nation's debt ceiling last night after conservative lawmakers expressed skepticism about the bill and the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the the plan would reduce deficits by only $851 billion over 10 years.
Speaker Boehner announced today that he will rewrite his legislation to ensure that it meets his oft-stated pledge to cut spending more than Congress increases the federal borrowing limit.
Jeff Flake from Arizona, member of the Appropriations Committee, is one of the House Republicans who has come out against the Speaker's bill.
Today on American Morning, Flake joins Kiran Chetry to weigh in on why he is not supporting the bill and to discuss what compromises are necessary in order to secure his vote on a debt-ceiling bill.
Governor Rick Scott: 'We cannot continue to borrow money'
The ongoing debate in Washington over whether to raise the federal debt ceiling has many governors from both parties worrying about how the negotiations will affect state finances.
However, Republican Governor Rick Scott of Florida seems less concerned then others about a potential default, telling reporters yesterday that failing to raise the debt-ceiling would have a "minimal" effect on state governments and financial markets.
Scott joins Christine Romans on American Morning today to describe why he would not raise the federal debt ceiling and to discuss why he thinks that the government must prioritize spending and stop borrowing money.
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