Lankford Strongly Opposes Gimmick to Raise Debt Ceiling

WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) issued the following statement after the Senate voted to create a new process to increase the debt ceiling, which Lankford has been critical of for months saying Democrats should be responsible for their reckless spending: 

“I am strongly opposed to this new process and to raising the debt ceiling without any conversation about how to stop this out-of-control spending. The reason our country has a vote on our debt ceiling is to provide an opportunity to debate and correct our deficit spending, not to just facilitate more deficit spending. For Democrats to tie necessary assistance for Medicare providers to this new debt ceiling process is completely deceitful. There is wide support for the prevention of Medicare cuts, but this new debt limit process sets a terrible precedent and does nothing but worsen our spending problem. I supported an amendment that would have separated the debt ceiling from the Medicare protections, but that amendment was blocked on the Senate floor yesterday. Democrats have already spent over $3 trillion this year and still want to spend another $2 plus trillion. Our nation’s out-of-control spending needs to stop.”

Earlier this week, Lankford introduced an amendment to remove the new debt limit process from the bill. This would have separated the much-needed protection of our nation’s health care providers, who continue to battle a worldwide pandemic, from the poison-pill that is this new debt limit process. The amendment was not adopted despite wide agreement on the immediate need for action to protect Medicare providers.  

In March, Lankford opposed Democrats’ $1.9 trillion progressive bill masked as “COVID relief.” Lankford also opposed the $1.2 trillion “infrastructure bill” that paved the way for the partisan Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Resolution that provides another $3.5 trillion in new entitlement spending.

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