Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., stood by his decision not to vote to raise the federal debt ceiling during a Tuesday appearance at a South Charleston coffee shop.
Manchin mentioned the First Gulf War against Iraq in 1991, when allied countries helped finance U.S. actions against Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait.
"We got in and we got out," Manchin said about that conflict. "Now, we are in Libya. Nobody is paying. We have already spent over $608 million and it is growing every day."
Manchin also questioned spending $120 billion a year and stationing 100,000 troops in Afghanistan.
He said he is particularly worried about the sharp rise in our national debt over the past 20 years.
The debt ceiling rose from $3.5 trillion to $4 trillion in Clinton's early years in the White House to $5.9 trillion in 2002, Manchin said.
Since 2002, that debt ceiling jumped up to $14.3 trillion, Manchin said. "Now, they want to raise it to $17 trillion.
"Are we disciplined enough to change this over the next 10 or 20 years?"
Manchin said the nation must continue to focus on people who really need help financially and fight to maintain programs like Head Start that help poor pre-school children.
"Some people said we had to take 15 percent of the funding from Head Start. That cut would have hurt 1,500 kids in West Virginia."
Manchin is supporting two new pieces of legislation to cut the budget:
The CAP Act, co-sponsored by Sens. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., would cap federal spending as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product, from the current level of 24.7 percent to 20.6 percent. Spending cuts would begin in 2013 and continue for a decade.
The Balanced Budget Amendment, co-sponsored by Sens. Mark Udall, D-Col., and Richard Shelby, R-Ala., would similarly limit total government spending to 20 percent of the previous year's GDP, unless the U.S. engages in a declared war.
Paul J. Nyden at pjny...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5164.
SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., stood by his decision not to vote to raise the federal debt ceiling during a Tuesday appearance at a South Charleston coffee shop.
"I will not vote to raise the national debt ceiling until we have a long-term fix, which could take 20 years," Manchin told 35 people gathered at the Daily Cup near the Mound.
If Congress does not raise the debt ceiling, the nation would not be able to borrow money to pay its bills, which is predicted to set off a worldwide financial crisis.
During his visit, Manchin launched a "Commonsense Solutions" weeklong tour to discuss cutting federal spending.
"Left unchecked, our exploding national debt will paralyze this nation. It will cost us countless jobs," Manchin said. "It will derail critical programs like Social Security and Medicare."
During his conversation, which lasted more than an hour, Manchin emphasized federal programs he wants to preserve.
"Talking about cutting Social Security and Medicare scares people. They will be protected," Manchin said.
"If you are 35 or younger, there will be some adjustments. But it is not going to change things for people who have been paying into [those programs] for a long time."
Future changes for younger people could include taking higher payments from their weekly paychecks and increasing retirement ages to collect full Social Security benefits from 67 to 69.
Manchin also spoke about the major impacts of war.
"We've got wars going on now. I have been over there," Manchin said, referring to a nine-day tour of Afghanistan, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Israel and Germany he made with Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; Bob Corker, R-Tenn.; and Chris Coons, D-Del., in late February
"There is a lot of suffering for people in those countries. There is a lot of suffering for our soldiers. We need to look at that," Manchin said.
"We are seeing uprisings in Northern Africa, in Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia and Libya. But it is not because of some radical religious cult, not because of some fanatics. It is because people want a better life.
"All the guns and missiles are not going to change the environment," he said. "We can do a lot more by educating people."
Manchin worries about growing military spending.
"Our defense spending is greater than all other nations put together. Can't our Defense Department be more efficient?"
Manchin mentioned the First Gulf War against Iraq in 1991, when allied countries helped finance U.S. actions against Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait.
"We got in and we got out," Manchin said about that conflict. "Now, we are in Libya. Nobody is paying. We have already spent over $608 million and it is growing every day."
Manchin also questioned spending $120 billion a year and stationing 100,000 troops in Afghanistan.
He said he is particularly worried about the sharp rise in our national debt over the past 20 years.
The debt ceiling rose from $3.5 trillion to $4 trillion in Clinton's early years in the White House to $5.9 trillion in 2002, Manchin said.
Since 2002, that debt ceiling jumped up to $14.3 trillion, Manchin said. "Now, they want to raise it to $17 trillion.
"Are we disciplined enough to change this over the next 10 or 20 years?"
Manchin said the nation must continue to focus on people who really need help financially and fight to maintain programs like Head Start that help poor pre-school children.
"Some people said we had to take 15 percent of the funding from Head Start. That cut would have hurt 1,500 kids in West Virginia."
Manchin is supporting two new pieces of legislation to cut the budget:
The CAP Act, co-sponsored by Sens. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., would cap federal spending as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product, from the current level of 24.7 percent to 20.6 percent. Spending cuts would begin in 2013 and continue for a decade.
The Balanced Budget Amendment, co-sponsored by Sens. Mark Udall, D-Col., and Richard Shelby, R-Ala., would similarly limit total government spending to 20 percent of the previous year's GDP, unless the U.S. engages in a declared war.
Paul J. Nyden at pjny...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5164.
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