Sunday shows: No limits on debt debate

The debate over increasing the debt limit will continue on this Sunday’s talk shows, as will GOP efforts to rein in the federal budget.

A number of lawmakers, including freshmen and senior leadership, are slated to appear to talk about those issues Sunday.

{mosads}The partisan showdown on the debt limit reached a new level last week, after Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner sent a letter to every member of Congress warning of catastrophic consequences for the economies of the nation and across the globe if the government hits its current statutory debt limit of $14.3 trillion. That ceiling could be reached as soon as the end of March, he warned, as he called on lawmakers to pass an increase as soon as possible.

However, Republicans are maintaining that any increase to that limit needs to be accompanied by serious cuts in spending, as they attempt to deliver on promises made on the campaign trail that helped them win back the majority in the House.

Two new senators, both darlings of the Tea Party who have argued against increases to the debt ceiling, are slated to appear on Sunday shows.

Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) will both appear on separate programs. Paul will speak on “Fox News Sunday,” appearing opposite Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), who took down another Tea Party favorite, Christine O’Donnell, in the race to fill Vice President Joe Biden’s vacant seat. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) will also appear on the program.

Lee will make appearances on both CNN’s “State of the Union” and ABC’s “This Week.” Another freshman who rose to office with the help of significant Tea Party backing, Lee has been one of the stronger voices opposing the debt limit increase. He will be joined on ABC by two other new lawmakers, Reps. Chris Gibson (R-N.Y.) and Bobby Schilling (R-Ill.).

ABC’s program will also host a debate on the budget. One of the GOP’s top priorities in the new Congress is to bring down federal spending, and House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is expected to play a key role in that effort. He will appear alongside Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), the ranking member of that committee.

On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will give his take on the upcoming Congress. In addition, he will weigh in on the Tea Party, after having to fend off a bitter electoral challenge from the Tea Party-backed Sharron Angle. In previews of the interview, Reid argues that the Tea Party was created in response to economic struggles, and will disappear once it recovers. The new chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), will appear alongside freshman Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho) as part of a panel on the program.

Two top Democratic leaders in Congress will appear alongside one Republican on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” as House Democratic whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) will appear alongside Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.). They will debate with Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), the Senate’s Republican whip.

On CNN, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) will face off against Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the chairman of the Senate Republican Conference. They will discuss how the Democrat-controlled Senate will work with, or against, House Republicans, who are expected to send a slew of legislation to the upper chamber, beginning with a bill repealing healthcare reform.

President Obama’s staff is undergoing a makeover, as William Daley has come in to replace Rahm Emanuel as chief of staff and Geithner adviser Gene Sperling has been named Lawrence Summers’s successor as head of the National Economic Council. John Podesta, former President Clinton’s chief of staff, will discuss the moves alongside Ed Gillespie, an adviser to former President George W. Bush.