Rep. Steny Hoyer: GOP Debt Limit Tactics ‘Somewhat Like Taking Your Child Hostage’

In a Capitol Hill press conference on Thursday, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said Republicans’ tactics in the current negotiations were “somewhat like taking your child hostage.” His remarks were in response to the Treasury Department’s informing that we are set to hit the debt limit in the coming days.

“It’s somewhat like taking your child hostage and saying to somebody else, ‘I’m going to shoot my child if you don’t do what I want done.’ You don’t want to shoot your child,” Hoyer said. “There’s no Republican leader that wants to default on our debt, that I’ve talked to.”

We have “four days to avert a crisis that could harm our fragile recovery,” he said. Hoyer further argued that increasing the debt ceiling simply allows the country to pay the bills its already incurred — a notion no one should object to. We can and should pay our bills, he said.

The congressman called on Republican leadership to call the House back in session and finally craft a fiscal cliff deal.

Watch below, via C-SPAN:

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