McConnell: GOP won't help Dems raise debt limit

(21 Sep 2021) Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said he was not about to help pay off past debts when Biden was about to pile on more with a “reckless” tax and spending package. "The debt ceiling will be raised, as it always should be, but it will be raised by the Democrats," McConnell said Tuesday, conceding that the nation needs to pay its outstanding debt, but not clarifying how that would happen without Republican support. The House is rushing headlong Tuesday into a vote on legislation to fund the government, suspend the federal debt limit and provide disaster and refugee aid, forcing a showdown with Republicans who oppose the package despite the risk of a fiscal crisis. Even if Tuesday's vote is approved by the House, which Democrats control, it is expected to languish in the 50-50 Senate where Democrats will be hard-pressed to find 10 Republicans to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome a filibuster. The Treasury Department warned that it will soon run out of cash on hand, and have to rely on incoming receipts to pay its obligations, now at $28.4 trillion. That could force the Treasury to delay or miss payments, a devastating situation. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...