The U.S. hit its debt ceiling last week and began enacting “extraordinary measures” to avoid a default that could be disastrous for the U.S. economy. At a Jan. 25 Senate Republican press conference, Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Ron Johnson, R-Wis., Rand Paul, R-Ky., and others spoke to reporters with a message for President Biden. Straight Arrow News contributor Sen. Rand Paul said conservatives and the House majority won’t vote to raise the debt ceiling without budget reform and that President Biden will have to negotiate with them.

Excerpted from the Jan. 25 Senate Republican press conference:

President Biden said he won’t negotiate over raising the debt ceiling. I have news for him. He absolutely will negotiate. Conservatives will not vote to raise the debt ceiling. The majority in the House – the Republican majority in the House – will not vote to raise the debt ceiling without significant budget reform.

The greatest threat to our country is – and the greatest threat to our national security – is the debt. One of the great things about where we are now though, is it really doesn’t take as much as you would think to actually balance the budget. In Europe, over half of the countries balance their annual budgets. We think of Europe, of Germany and Sweden of having these large governments, and they do, but they’re actually fiscally responsible in the sense that they spend what comes in.

We could do it in our country. If we were to have a $100 billion cut, which would still have us spending way more than we spent before COVID, a $100 billion cut in free spending, we would balance our budget in just four years.

This is amazing. We have an opportunity here. It could be done. But it would take compromise between both parties. Republicans would have to give up the sacred cow that says we will never touch $1 in military and the Democrats would have to give up the sacred cow they will never touch $1 in welfare. Everything would have to be looked at across the board. No one has a sacred area that would be immune. And when you make the cuts across the board they aren’t as big as you’d actually think they would be. It’s the responsible thing to do but President Biden needs to know, absolutely he will negotiate and it’s better to start now.