Debt Ceiling Agreement Disputed by Bachmann and Romney
After President Barack Obama announced that congressional leaders from both political parties agreed on a debt ceiling deal, Republican presidential hopefuls Michele Bachmann and Mitt Romney publicly expressed that they would vote against it.
Bachmann called the debt deal, which Obama said would help the U.S. government to avoid defaulting on its bills, flawed. The Republican representing Minnesota's sixth congressional district publicly declared that she would vote against the proposed debt ceiling agreement.
"The 'deal' ... spends too much and doesn't cut enough," Bachmann said after Obama announced that both parties compromised on the new debt deal. "Someone has to say 'no.' I will."
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However, Bachmann isn't the only GOP presidential candidate who is in opposition of the debt ceiling deal. Although Mitt Romney has been less vocal about his feelings on the matter than Bachmann, the former Massachusetts governor said the deal reflects Obama's poor management of the country.
"While I appreciate the extraordinarily difficult situation President Obama's lack of leadership has placed Republican members of Congress in, I personally cannot support this deal," Romney said Monday. “President Obama's leadership failure has pushed the economy to the brink at the 11th hour and 59th minute."
Romney said he would have taken a different approach than Obama if given the opportunity.
"As president, my plan would have produced a budget that was cut, capped and balanced – not one that opens the door to higher taxes and puts defense cuts on the table," Romney said.
While announcing the deal on Sunday, Obama said he was not thrilled about the deal. However, he thought it was necessary to ensure that the country could pay its bills.
"Is this the deal I would have preferred? No," Obama said in a press conference Sunday. "But this compromise does make a serious down payment on the deficit reduction we need, and gives each party a strong incentive to get a balanced plan done before the end of the year."
However, Bachmann said Obama needed to put the American people at the forefront of his decisions, which she believed he had not done.
"This isn't the deal the American people 'preferred' either, Mr. President," Bachmann said. "Mr. President, I'm not sure what voice you're listening to, but I can assure you that the voice of the American people wasn't the voice that compelled Washington to act."
The vote for a debt ceiling deal is expected to be finalized on Monday.
