Mourdock Discusses National Debt, Senate Run
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Jennifer [email protected]
Mourdock is running against current U.S. Senate Richard Lugar in Indiana’s May 2012 primary. Joe Donnelly is running as a Democrat for the seat.
Lugar was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1976, and won a sixth term in 2006 with 87 percent of the vote.
Mourdock addressed the topic of the debt ceiling. Treasury officials have estimated they will need additional borrowing ability by Aug. 2.
Mourdock said he is opposed to raising the national debt ceiling limit.
The nation’s debt currently stands at $14.3 trillion – a ceiling that the government reached in May.
Mourdock said he would support Senate Bill 1340, currently under consideration in the senate.
Known as the “Cut, Cap and Balance Act of 2011,” the bill would cut spending from the 2012 budget, cap future government growth and result in a Constitutional amendment to permanently balance the budget of the U.S. as a fixed percentage of the gross domestic product.
The bill would reduce the spending levels by $2.5 trillion over five years, Mourdock said.
When asked if he thinks Congress will vote to raise the debt ceiling by Aug. 2, he said he doesn’t see it being resolved, and said the U.S. credit rating is everything.
“If the credit rating of the U.S. is downgraded because the administration and congress fail to do their jobs, it will have dramatic and direct impacts on governing,” Mourdock said.
He said interest rate costs will increase dramatically if the U.S. credit rating decreases, and the U.S. will be seen as a more risky borrower.
Mourdock said the government will still take in more than $147 billion from Aug. 3-31. That is more than enough money to pay the interest and principal on the debt, pay Social Security bills and Medicare and Medicaid and payroll for the Armed Forces.
When asked what he thinks is contributing to the national debt, he said runaway spending.
“We’ve added 5 trillion dollars to our national debt in 30 months and that is unbelievable,” Mourdock said. “There is 40 cents of every dollar the government spends that is borrowed money and still the administration is saying they need more.”
He said what has brought the debt crisis is the perfect storm of a weak economy and an international financial crisis that is not going away.
Mourdock said some places such as Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Italy have been spending far more than they have been taking in.
He said they will be knocking on the United State’s door to bail them out, but the question will be who will bail the U.S. out.
Mourdock said he hopes citizens can learn what the debt crisis is about, and demand that government live within its means.[[In-content Ad]]Mourdock said he is proud of having served as part of the administration that balanced the budget in Indiana during a financial crisis.
Indiana closed its budget books last week with $1.2 billion in extra cash.
“We did that because a few years ago we saw the crisis coming and started to cut back ahead of time and made hard decisions,” Mourdock said.
He said the federal government refuses to make those hard decisions.
Mourdock said his opponent, Lugar, is a person of integrity, but he has voted to raise the debt limit seven times since 2000, and Mourdock said that is not acceptable.
“Dick Lugar is not the same guy we originally sent to the senate,” Mourdock said. “In the last few years he voted to bail out the car companies and banks and those are votes I never would have cast.”
Mourdock said Lugar sees government today as the answer, and Mourdock sees government as the problem.
He said serving as state treasurer will prepare him to serve as senator.
He spent 31 years as a geologist, and said he would like to use that experience to work with the senate on its energy policy.
“Serving as state treasurer during the biggest financial collapse in history has been a wonderful experience to learn that it is important to act ahead of the economic crisis,” Mourdock said.
He said Indiana has earned more than a billion dollars in interest and earnings for Indiana in the last five years.
“We have downsized government here in Indiana and that is what the federal government has to do,” Mourdock said.
Mourdock is running against current U.S. Senate Richard Lugar in Indiana’s May 2012 primary. Joe Donnelly is running as a Democrat for the seat.
Lugar was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1976, and won a sixth term in 2006 with 87 percent of the vote.
Mourdock addressed the topic of the debt ceiling. Treasury officials have estimated they will need additional borrowing ability by Aug. 2.
Mourdock said he is opposed to raising the national debt ceiling limit.
The nation’s debt currently stands at $14.3 trillion – a ceiling that the government reached in May.
Mourdock said he would support Senate Bill 1340, currently under consideration in the senate.
Known as the “Cut, Cap and Balance Act of 2011,” the bill would cut spending from the 2012 budget, cap future government growth and result in a Constitutional amendment to permanently balance the budget of the U.S. as a fixed percentage of the gross domestic product.
The bill would reduce the spending levels by $2.5 trillion over five years, Mourdock said.
When asked if he thinks Congress will vote to raise the debt ceiling by Aug. 2, he said he doesn’t see it being resolved, and said the U.S. credit rating is everything.
“If the credit rating of the U.S. is downgraded because the administration and congress fail to do their jobs, it will have dramatic and direct impacts on governing,” Mourdock said.
He said interest rate costs will increase dramatically if the U.S. credit rating decreases, and the U.S. will be seen as a more risky borrower.
Mourdock said the government will still take in more than $147 billion from Aug. 3-31. That is more than enough money to pay the interest and principal on the debt, pay Social Security bills and Medicare and Medicaid and payroll for the Armed Forces.
When asked what he thinks is contributing to the national debt, he said runaway spending.
“We’ve added 5 trillion dollars to our national debt in 30 months and that is unbelievable,” Mourdock said. “There is 40 cents of every dollar the government spends that is borrowed money and still the administration is saying they need more.”
He said what has brought the debt crisis is the perfect storm of a weak economy and an international financial crisis that is not going away.
Mourdock said some places such as Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Italy have been spending far more than they have been taking in.
He said they will be knocking on the United State’s door to bail them out, but the question will be who will bail the U.S. out.
Mourdock said he hopes citizens can learn what the debt crisis is about, and demand that government live within its means.[[In-content Ad]]Mourdock said he is proud of having served as part of the administration that balanced the budget in Indiana during a financial crisis.
Indiana closed its budget books last week with $1.2 billion in extra cash.
“We did that because a few years ago we saw the crisis coming and started to cut back ahead of time and made hard decisions,” Mourdock said.
He said the federal government refuses to make those hard decisions.
Mourdock said his opponent, Lugar, is a person of integrity, but he has voted to raise the debt limit seven times since 2000, and Mourdock said that is not acceptable.
“Dick Lugar is not the same guy we originally sent to the senate,” Mourdock said. “In the last few years he voted to bail out the car companies and banks and those are votes I never would have cast.”
Mourdock said Lugar sees government today as the answer, and Mourdock sees government as the problem.
He said serving as state treasurer will prepare him to serve as senator.
He spent 31 years as a geologist, and said he would like to use that experience to work with the senate on its energy policy.
“Serving as state treasurer during the biggest financial collapse in history has been a wonderful experience to learn that it is important to act ahead of the economic crisis,” Mourdock said.
He said Indiana has earned more than a billion dollars in interest and earnings for Indiana in the last five years.
“We have downsized government here in Indiana and that is what the federal government has to do,” Mourdock said.
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