'Biden needs to man up': Congress gets candid about $32 trillion in debt

Debt ceiling standoff highlights bitter divide between Congressional Democrats and Republicans

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The nation's nearly $32 trillion debt highlights a bitter divide in the nation's capital, spurring Congressional Democrats and Republicans alike to criticize the opposing side.

"If you're concerned about $32 trillion in debt, just wait until the Republicans breach the debt limit," Rep. Ritchie Torres told Fox News on Wednesday afternoon.

Rep. Ritchie Torres, a Democrat from New York, argued that failing to raise the debt limit would have a negative ripple effect on the economy. (Jon Michael Raasch/Fox News Digital)

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Tensions have risen since Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned that the government won't be able to pay its bills as soon as June 1 if Congress doesn't suspend or raise the debt ceiling.

"If we breach the debt limit as Republicans are threatening to do, it will actually raise borrowing costs, causing America to become more indebted, not less," said Torres, a New York Democrat. "It's going to compound the very problem that Republicans claim to want to solve."

But Rep. Nancy Mace said the government is in no danger of defaulting.

"That is a scare tactic by the left and the American people shouldn't buy it," the South Carolina Republican said. "We can also prioritize spending if government were to shutdown."

Mace said President Biden needs to "come to the table and negotiate with Republicans" to balance the budget, citing a similar move during the Clinton administration.

"Biden needs to man up and come to the table and work with folks to rein in spending," she said. "We can't keep doing this."

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Sen. JD Vance of Ohio commended House Republicans for passing a "commonsense piece of legislation to get the debt under control" that "put the country back on a sustainable fiscal pathway."

The bill, which would freeze discretionary spending at 2022 levels and cap spending increases at 1% a year for the next decade, passed by a narrow 217-215 vote late last month. But it is unlikely to find a favorable audience in the Senate, where Majority Leader Chuck Schumer slammed the legislation as "dangerous."

"I think it's the right deal," Vance, a Republican, said. "If Democrats don't like it, which is fine, they ought to provide some alternatives as opposed to just complaining and doing nothing."

Rep. Robert Garcia said his main priority is making sure "basic tenets of government" such as health care, the student debt coverage package and veterans' benefits are not impacted.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned that the U.S. won't be able to pay its bills as soon as June 1 if Congress doesn't take action on the debt ceiling. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

"Right now, I think the leadership is doing a good job of holding the line," the California Democrat said. "We do not want to cut benefits for people. That's the key thing."

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