New Jersey Lawmaker Leads Effort Calling On Speaker Pelosi For Vote On More Borrowing

WASHINGTON – Congressman Leonard Lance (NJ-07) is leading an effort in Congress for a clean, up-or-down vote on congressional action that would raise the Nation’s debt ceiling.

In a response to press reports that the Democratic Leadership is planning on attaching legislation to increase the national debt ceiling to must-pass legislation like the Defense spending bill to avoid a clean vote on the issue, Lance spearheaded a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi opposing such efforts.

Specifically, 27 House Republicans have signed Lance’s letter to Speaker Pelosi calling for a separate vote to increase the Nation’s indebtedness. The Lance letter can be found here.

Record budget deficits are pushing the national debt closer to the $12.1 trillion statutory limit. And government officials have warned that Congress will have to increase the debt limit by mid-December. For fiscal year 2009, which ended Sept. 30, our Nation’s deficit stood at $1.4 trillion.

“We believe lawmakers should not be allowed to evade this debate,” Lance said in a letter to Speaker Pelosi. “We urge you to schedule a separate vote to increase the Nation’s debt.”

Lance, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, is a leading voice in Congress for reducing our national debt. He says Congress must hold a separate vote on raising the federal debt and should not be tied to any other piece of legislation.

READ Lance’s letter to Pelosi – which was signed by 27 House Republicans.

VIEW the current federal debt clock.

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