Bill Johnson Quotes

The debt ceiling at some point has to be raised. I don't think there's anybody that questions the fact that if we ended up getting in a situation where the U.S. government was sending out IOUs like the state of California did at one point, that ends up creating quite a brand problem for our country.

It is simply science fiction fantasy to say that, if you do not raise the debt ceiling, that everything is going to collapse.

I certainly don't want our nation to go into default, but at the same time, I'm very concerned about our ongoing debt problem.

I don't see why anybody's playing chicken with the debt ceiling.

The debt ceiling is not something to toy with.

We have to deal with the nation's debt.

I'm not going to raise the debt ceiling.

The American people reject the idea of giving Washington a blank check to increase the debt limit.

But the debt limit obviously is something that needs to and will be passed. That is not inconsistent with a process and a belief that we have to get significant deficit reduction.

The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better. I, therefore, intend to oppose the effort to increase America's debt.

The debate we won't be having is whether or not the debt ceiling should be raised. We will not have a situation where people will hold the American economy hostage in order to achieve a specific agenda - at least not until 2013. So we think that is incredibly important as a matter of economic good.

I do not want America to default on its debt.

I always think a debt ceiling is a good tool to carry something.

Not raising the debt ceiling is not an automatic trigger for a default.

If we reach the debt ceiling, we don't have to default. Getting to that point just won't allow us to reach new debt.

The truth is that the United States doesn't need, and shouldn't have, a debt ceiling. Every other democratic country, with the exception of Denmark, does fine without one.

Raising the debt limit on some levels is a ministerial act. It doesn't involve any new spending.

There's no debt limit in the Constitution.

Unlike the federal government, most states don't have the option of running a deficit.

If we don't get a grip on government spending, there will be no growth.

Fiscal policy is not just, or even not even principally, the purview of the president.

I think at the end of the day we have to raise the debt ceiling, because America pays its bills.

If it took multiple debt ceiling hikes, I'd rather achieve the savings.

The U.S. has a law on the books called the debt limit, but the name is misleading. The debt limit started in 1917 for the purpose of facilitating more national debt, not reducing it. It still serves that purpose. It's unconnected to spending, hurts our credit rating and has been an abject failure at limiting debt.

The only way you can raise the debt ceiling is to change the trajectory of spending - that's my personal preference. But I want the Ways and Means Committee to offer up a solution.