Illinois U.S. Senators Square Off On Debt Limit
CHICAGO (WBBM) -- The U.S. Treasurer says the United States could default on its loans if congress doesn't act soon to raise the country's debt limit, and both Illinois U.S. senators are weighing in on the issue.
As WBBM Newsradio 780's Bernie Tafoya reports, on Monday, the United States reached its debt limit of $14.294 trillion. The credit card has reached its max.
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But as to increasing the debt limit, U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) says he doesn't see that happening, at least not without concessions.
"I don't think there's any way that the Congress would pass any additional additions to the debt of the United States without spending reduction," he said.
But U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) says this is no time for Republicans to play politics with the economy.
"We're just barely starting to recover," he said. "People are starting to get back to work. Businesses are starting to succeed. And if we stumble over a political strategy to make the debt ceiling part of some negotiation, it would be a serious mistake."
Congress has until August to deal with the debt limit, or else the country could be threatened with falling into default.
