In advance of Wednesday’s vote on suspending the debt ceiling, six Republican congressmen joined The Heritage Foundation’s Bloggers Briefing to discuss conservative viewpoints on the budget deal.
Not all of the congressmen who spoke were persuaded of the debt extension. Representative Justin Amash (MI) was the first to state he planned to vote no.
“I’m a lean no on everything until I’m persuaded to vote yes. That’s the responsible thing to do as a legislator,” he said.
“I think there’s been too much waiting on the part of Republicans—waiting for Republicans to control the Senate, waiting for Republicans to control the White House—and there hasn’t been enough persuading of the American people,” said Amash.
There has also been a lot of waiting on the Senate.
“It has been 1,364 days since the Senate passed a budget,” said Representative Jeff Duncan (SC).
Other congressmen in attendance were Tim Huelskamp (KS), Raúl Labrador (ID), Thomas Massie (KY), Mick Mulvaney (SC), and David Schweikert (AZ).