Republicans, Democrats Both Responsible for Solving Debt Ceiling Puzzle, Experts Say

According to two fiscal policy experts, both Republicans and Democrats must negotiate and come to a compromise to bring federal debt under control and prevent a national financial crisis. Rob Portman, a Republican senator from Ohio from 2011 to 2023, and Jack Lew, former Treasury Secretary under the Obama administration and former director of the Office of Management and Budget, differ in their assessment of the best starting point for negotiations but agree that finding a solution for the financial well-being of the country is crucial.

Lew emphasized that raising the debt limit shouldn’t be used as a bargaining strategy in spending negotiations, while pointing out that both issues—paying the country’s bills and finding ways to reduce future spending—must be solved to address the debt crisis.

Portman, taking note of attaching conditions to a debt limit increase, said that using the occasion of reaching the debt limit to push for spending reductions has been successful in the past.

Despite going against the Republican party line on protecting Medicare and Social Security in the current negotiations, Portman said that entitlement spending should be considered when reaching a deal. He pointed out that mandatory spending constitutes 70 percent of the budget and is currently on autopilot.

Portman compared President George H. W. Bush’s approach in avoiding a government shutdown in 1990 with President Joe Biden’s stance on raising the debt limit today. He remarked that Biden is not even willing to negotiate, while Bush had to take a huge risk by compromising on something he had refused to do in the past, which most believe to be the primary reason he was not reelected.

Portman further added that requiring Republicans to make their spending cut proposals public before negotiating with the president is a failed approach that invites criticism.