DeMint: No increase in debt limit

WASHINGTON, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- Sen. Jim DeMint, one of the most conservative members of the upper house, urged Republicans Friday to block any increase in the U.S. debt ceiling.

DeMint, a South Carolina Republican, sent an e-mail to supporters of the Senate Conservatives Fund that cited an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal by newly elected Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., The Hill reported. DeMint called Toomey's piece a "game changer."

"I intend to introduce legislation that would require the Treasury to make interest payments on our debt its first priority in the event that the debt ceiling is not raised," Toomey said in the Journal. "This would not only ensure the continued confidence of investors at home and abroad, but would enable us to have an honest debate about the consequences of our eventual decision about the debt ceiling."

DeMint supported Toomey's argument.

"Americans should reject the sky-is-falling hysteria coming from President Obama and demand that Congress stop the debt and balance the budget," DeMint said. "When the Senate considers the debt limit next month, Republicans must do everything they can to block an increase in the debt limit."