FreedomWorks Stands with Senators Lee, Cruz, Paul and Rubio to Prevent Another Closed-Door Debt Ceiling Increase

WASHINGTON, May 23, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following an intense debate on the Senate floor, FreedomWorks stands with Senators Mike Lee (UT), Ted Cruz (TX), Rand Paul (KY) and Marco Rubio (FL) in their objections to Senator John McCain and the Democrat majority's request to leapfrog regular order and sneak through a debt ceiling increase as part of a budget compromise crafted behind closed doors.

FreedomWorks believes the Senate should not go to conference on the budget until Majority Leader Harry Reid promises that another debt ceiling increase is debated and voted on under regular order, in the light of day.

FreedomWorks President Matt Kibbe commented, "There is no place for a debt limit hike in a budget resolution. The budget process should be about finding responsible ways to decrease our nation's debt- not exploring ways to increase our tolerance to it."

Siding with Senator Reid and majority Democrats, Senator John McCain (AZ) lectured from the floor, arguing that the majority should be able to raise the debt limit with just 50 votes, not a supermajority of 60.

Kibbe continued, "The amount of hostility coming from Senator McCain against the ideas of transparency and accountability in Washington is disturbing. McCain's strategy is to allow Republicans to facilitate more debt, while nominally voting against it in some act of political theatre. If Senator McCain's definition of 'business as usual' is to pass a budget resolution that shuts the American people out of the process, and raises the debt ceiling behind closed doors with no debate or accountability, then it's time to reevaluate Washington's business model."

"What Reid, McCain, and the establishment are trying to sneak through here -raising the debt ceiling as part of a budget deal- is not unprecedented. But it is wrong, and should not be permitted. It's this process that got us into $17 trillion in debt in the first place. These four principled Senators are right to stand up in opposition to yet another Beltway insider-negotiated debt hike."

FreedomWorks is mobilizing its membership of over 4 million activists nationwide to tell Senator McCain to stop working with Democrats to sneak through a debt ceiling hike, and will continue to spread awareness using the hashtag: #NoSecretDebtHike.  

FreedomWorks is a service center to a community of over 4 million grassroots activists nationwide who believe in individual liberty and constitutionally-limited government. For more information on FreedomWorks' position on the budget battle, please visit www.FreedomWorks.org or contact Jackie Bodnar at 202-603-2108, or [email protected].

SOURCE FreedomWorks