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WASHINGTON (WCSC/AP) - South Carolina’s two Republican senators are explaining why they opposed raising the nation’s debt limit.
Sens. Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott both opposed the $2.5 trillion dollar debt limit hike that Congress approved early Wednesday.
The legislation, designed to avoid a default, goes to President Joe Biden for his signature.
The measure passed with a final tally of 50 to 49, and drew only one Republican vote in the House.
Graham and Scott both released statements on Twitter about their votes.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Shumer (D-New York) says the vote is about “paying debt accumulated by both parties".
The flurry of action, which stretched into Wednesday’s early-morning hours, came just shy of a deadline set by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen for avoiding a national default.
The debt limit must be raised in order to cover the cost of spending decisions that have already been made by Congress under both Republican and Democratic majorities.
“We have worked in a bipartisan fashion to deal with COVID, but the Democrats are now on a spending spree that will create a government unsustainable in terms of size and cost,” Graham said.
“We cannot continue to ignore the growing national debt. That’s why I voted no on raising the debt ceiling,” Scott said. “This only allows for more reckless spending and puts future generations of Americans in deeper debt. We must get our fiscal house in order.”
The measure extends that debt limit into 2023.
Copyright 2021 WCSC. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved.