Rep. Nancy Mace, who voted against raising the national debt limit through December, told Newsmax Wednesday that she made her decision because putting off the decision opens the doors to "continued reckless spending."
"If you were to cut spending to cover the debt that the United States has today, you'd have to cut the federal government by 40%," the South Carolina Republican said on Newsmax's "National Report."
"Without a plan in place to balance the budget or to cut spending, I'm a hard pass on this, and I think most of America would agree."
The House Tuesday night approved legislation that will allow the current national debt limit to rise to about $28.8 trillion, or by $480 billion. The current national debt is at $28.4 trillion. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the bill, particularly after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's warnings of severe economic problems by Oct. 18.
Mace complained that the vote will open the door to more spending by people like Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., or Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Corte, D-N.Y., who she said are "writing all of Biden's budgets."
Meanwhile, Democrats are working to reach an agreement on the $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has acknowledged that the price tag won't be that high in the end but still said the lower amount won't stop programs the bill seeks.
"Money does not grow on trees," said Mace. "You can't continue to print money. It'll add to inflation…[it] has gone up 6% this year. Wages have gone up only 3%. Wages and salaries cannot keep up with the rising costs and prices of goods. They want to fundamentally change the United States with this kind of spending and it is socialism."
Mace also talked about the news that House Budget Chairman John Yarmouth, D-Ky., is not seeking reelection.
"It's major news for us" with the 2022 election cycle, said Mace. "We have a huge opportunity here to pick up many, many seats."
She added that President Joe Biden's failures will create a "domino effect," and that means "we're in a very good position to win big."
However, Mace said she's not encouraging Republicans to relax when they win the majority.
"We've got to make sure we hold ourselves accountable on the promises that we've made to the American people," she said. "That means to curb our spending that means to continue to cut taxes and making life here in our country the greatest it's ever been."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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