Cruz: Senate Democrats do ‘zilch’ to reduce the debt in their budget

“It has now been 95 days since the Senate has passed a budget,” Murray said Wednesday. “There are extremely important things that are not getting done right now.” 

{mosads}Cruz said he would not agree to Murray’s motion unless the conference committee is prohibited from reporting a compromise that would raise the debt ceiling.

“If you think it’s OK that Senate Democrats want to borrow more while doing nothing, nada, zilch on the debt … then you should welcome this motion,” Cruz said. “I would suggest that is irresponsible.”

Cruz has said Democrats want to raise the debt ceiling through a budget conference report because it would only take 50 votes rather than 60, but he suggested that would be “irresponsible” because the federal government is “bankrupting our children and grandchildren.”

Democrats have said the few Senate Republicans objecting to a conference are threatening the credit limit of the federal government. If Congress doesn’t raise the debt ceiling by the fall, the government is expected to default on its loans. Murray warned that Congress really has only one month to get something done because it will recess for the entire month of August.

“I urge the Senate Republican leadership to drop the Tea Party backed strategy of delaying until the next crisis,” Murray said.

GOP Sens. John McCain (Ariz.) and Susan Collins (Maine) have criticized the “minority in the minority” who are blocking regular order and the formation of a conference committee.