DENVER — Congressman Ken Buck, representative for Colorado’s 4th District, was one of just four Republicans in the House of Representatives to vote against Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s proposal to lift the debt limit and make large cuts to federal spending.
The plan, which narrowly passed with 217 votes in favor and 215 votes opposed, would increase the debt limit by $1.5 trillion while also cutting funding for federal agencies to 2022 fiscal year levels. It would limit future growth in spending to 1% per year, and block money for student debt cancellation and new IRS funding.
Senate Democrats have said the bill is dead on arrival, and President Joe Biden has demanded a debt limit increase with no pre-conditions.
Rep. Buck spoke with Denver7’s Rob Harris about his vote against the bill, where negotiations currently stand and how he views a potential default on the national debt.
Below is a transcript from their conversation. Minor edits have been made for clarity.
Rob Harris
"So you were one of only four Republican members of Congress to vote against this bill. Tell us why."
Rep. Ken Buck
"Because the Democrat budget, if you project out 10 years, brought us to $58 trillion of debt, which is absolutely absurd. One, we may very well default on our debts as a result of having $58 trillion of debt and trying to service the amount that we borrow on that. But two, the Republican plan brought us to $53 trillion of debt, which is almost as absurd as the $58 trillion. And in reality, there's not a whole lot of difference between those two, in terms of our ability to operate the functions that people have become accustomed to in this country. So I wasn't voting against the improvements that the McCarthy plan made. I was voting because it just isn't enough, and the American people have to understand something — at some point … we have to survive. We have to live with less services rather than the services that we've grown accustomed to."
Rob Harris
"So what are the cuts that you think we need to see that are not currently in this Republican-passed bill?"
Rep. Ken Buck
"Yeah, I think what we need to do is we need to look at the Constitution. I think we need to look at the role of the federal government. There are some things that are, that are uniquely federal. Fighting wars, and maintaining a national defense is a federal function. We don't want each of the states declaring war on some country or going to war with a country. Secondly, we want to maintain our currency. That's a federal function. We have one standardized currency across this country, and actually it's the reserve currency for the world at this point. Three, immigration is an absolutely essential federal function. We control through customs and border security the immigration system, and the goods that are coming into this country. So there are some things that are federal, and I think those are the things that the federal government has to focus on. And I think the federal government has to give back to the states the authority and the obligation to pay for some functions, and those include things that are very popular. And I understand they're very popular, but we can't afford to do it anymore at the federal level."
Rob Harris
"Aren't these discussions that should be happening with the budget later this year and not with the debt ceiling, which is essentially four bills we've already incurred?"
Rep. Ken Buck
"So there's a relationship between spending and debt. The more we spend, the more debt we have. And the only leverage point that Kevin McCarthy and the Republican Conference have for dealing with the out-of-control spending that's going on right now in Washington D.C. is the debt limit. The Democrats say to Republicans, 'You as are irresponsible for not being willing to pay our debt as a country.’ And Republicans say to the Democrats, ‘You're responsible for spending too much money and racking up the debt that we end up having to pay for as a country.’ So, you know, I think that both sides have to give, and we have to find a way to control our spending and have a debt limit bill that makes some sense."
Rob Harris
"Americans are already feeling uneasy about the economy. We're seeing interest rates continue to climb. What would a default on our debt mean? And do you think that's a realistic possibility at this point?"
Rep. Ken Buck
"I don't think we're going to default. I think we're going to come to a compromise. We're not that far apart, honestly, on the compromise. We're further apart on how we deal with future budgets and how we deal with future appropriations bills. But in terms of what a default would look like, we would not have on day one a sudden crash. We would not pay some bills, and other bills would be coming due 30 days later, 60 days later. And so you would see, over time, the non-essential functions of government be suspended for a period of time. You would see some other issues that are noticeable, but this apocalypse that people are forecasting — I don't think that's what is realistic. Hopefully, we never get anywhere close to that, and we're not talking about that. But the reality is that not paying our debts would be something that would we would feel the effects of over a period of time."
Rob Harris
"Let's say in 2025, Donald Trump or another Republican wins the election [and] is in the White House. Do you vote 'no' on a similar debt limit proposal, even under a Republican Congress then?"
Rep. Ken Buck
"Yeah, I voted no when Donald Trump was president during his four years before, and I will vote no in the future if we don't have responsible spending. That's the key for me. We need to cut spending. We need to not just reduce the rate at which we grow. And I am sitting down with some Democrats at this point, and talking about how do we look at this and how do we really develop a plan? So in my mind, it's bipartisan. Both sides have to give, and we've got to get to a plan. But absolutely I'm not — this isn't a shot at Joe Biden, or Kevin McCarthy for that matter. This is really, how do we deal with spending in a responsible way."
Rob Harris
"I’ll end with this: what do you say to Americans, Coloradans on both sides of the aisle who are just feeling uncertain and uneasy in this next month with this deadline? Some say it might be coming as soon as June 1, some say later in the summer, but certainly soon."
Rep. Ken Buck
"I say to folks, enjoy the beautiful weather that we have here in Colorado. Relax. This is politics. It will play itself out. We will not default on the debt. We will have an agreement. And the thing to worry about is where we're going to be a few years down the road on spending, not defaulting on the debt in May or June of 2023."
