Mark Pocan: “Republicans aren't being honest when they tell you they are trying to negotiate in good faith on the Nation's debt…”

“Republicans aren't being honest when they tell you they are trying to negotiate in good faith on the Nation's debt ceiling. First, this shouldn't be a negotiation; it is paying our bills we have already spent. We have lifted the debt ceiling over 80 times before, including three times during President Trump's tenure because you have to pay your bills. Second, the legislation they passed, as an alleged negotiation, shows how drastic they would like to cut spending but can't because they can't even put specifics on paper, like the President and the Democrats have. They would love to cut programs drastically, but the cuts would hurt so many Americans they can't actually do it. That is why they haven't released a budget. I serve on the Appropriations Committee--let me explain what the Republicans want to do. They passed a bill to cut spending to fiscal year 2022 levels. That sounds innocuous enough, but here is what it actually means. Deep cuts. We have discretionary and nondiscretionary spending. We can't cut nondiscretionary spending like Social Security and Medicare because, well, it is your money that we hold on to as a public trust. By law, we can't cut nondiscretionary spending. That only leaves discretionary funds that can be changed. Discretionary funds are eligible for cuts or increases, but the GOP majority further limits that by saying they won't cut Pentagon spending, amounting to over half of the discretionary funds.…”