GOP to Use Debt Cap to Push Spending Cuts

In this Feb. 18 file photo, Sen. Jim DeMint addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington. (AP Photo)

Republicans are planning to demand major spending cuts next year before they would agree to raise the amount of federal debt that can be issued, setting up a clash between the Obama administration and a Congress stocked with lawmakers who campaigned as deficit hawks.

The U.S. can't accrue debt above a certain ceiling set by lawmakers. In the most extreme scenario, the government would default on certain debts if the cap doesn't move.

Republican lawmakers, including South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, and congressional aides have said major spending cuts are the primary demand they will make going into the discussions over whether to raise the limit.

It isn't clear whether the White House would agree to significant cuts so quickly, though, and Obama administration officials could try to portray the GOP as playing political games with the country's ability to borrow.

The U.S. currently has $13.7 trillion of debt outstanding, just shy of the $14.3 trillion limit Congress set in February. Barring big changes in federal spending, taxes or the economy, the government is expected to hit the ceiling by May, and administration officials have already said it will have to be raised by then.

"Congress has never failed to increase the debt limit when necessary, and we are confident Congress will act in 2011 to ensure that the full faith and credit of the United States is protected," Treasury Department spokesman Steven Adamske said.

Click here to read more on this story from the Wall Street Journal.