GOP resists U.S. debt ceiling hike

WASHINGTON, April 3 (UPI) -- Congressional Republicans will vote against raising the U.S. debt ceiling without some major changes to the government's finances, a key GOP senator said.

Sen. John Cronyn, R-Texas, a member of the Senate Budget Committee, said Sunday that voting to avoid a government shutdown this week may be important, but Republicans won't go along with it until the Obama administration and congressional Democrats give in some on government spending.

"That is the price that's going to have to be paid," Cronyn said on CNN's "State of the Union. "Systemic reforms (are needed) to get Republican support for raising the debt ceiling, otherwise I think you are going to see Democrats having to do that all by themselves."

Cronyn said a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution would be a good step, but he would also like to see the president taking a more visible role in addressing the deficit.

"You see him planning his announcement for his re-election bid," Cronyn said. "It is kind of, like, where are your priorities?"

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., told CNN that a politically symbolic rejection of the debt ceiling increase would be a disaster for the real-world economy and Obama is not shirking the matter.

"The president will be involved," said Warner, who also serves on the Budget Committee. "But we've got to make sure that the (GOP-controlled) House comes along as well. So I think we'll take the first set of arrows, but we will see the president very engaged in the debate."