By RUSTY PAYN
Efforts by U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin to raise the debt limit have been criticized sharply by GOP lawmakers. And those criticisms have irked Utah Rep. Bill Orton.
When the debt ceiling expired in November, Rubin raised the limit in an effort to keep the U.S. Treasury from defaulting. Rubin borrowed from federal retiree trust funds, a move made by previous presidents. Thursday, House Rules Committee Chairman Gerald Solomon, R-N.Y., called Secretary Rubin’s debt management activities “an impeachable offense.”
Orton’s camp claims that Solomon’s threat caused a 50-point drop in the stock market and a plunge of the bond market.
“It is highly irresponsible for certain House Republicans to play politics with the good of the faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury,” Orton said. “I hope they learn that using the threat of a default to promote a partisan agenda has practical consequences that hurt all Americans.”
Republican leaders claimed in November that Secretary Rubin went above his authority by extending the debt limit. That drew ire from both sides which has continued through the intense budget negotiations between Congress and President Clinton.
“I have been working hard over the last six months to build a bi-partisan consensus for the enactment of a seven-year balanced budget plan, scored by the Congressional Budget office,” Orton said. “I call on my colleagues to join me in this constructive effort, and to reject partisan efforts like a government shutdown or the impeachment of the Treasury Secretary to score political points.”
