WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Thom Tillis appeared on Bloomberg News’ Balance of Power with Kailey Leinz and Joe Mathieu to discuss government funding, aid to Israel and Ukraine, border security, and other topics.
Senator Tillis on the Continuing Resolution:
“This is a very expensive process, and we need a consistent longer-term view of spending. To the point in your prior segment, we’ve also got to get serious about our debt. We are going to reach a point where we’ll run out of our credit line. We are reaching a point now where mandatory spending alone will consume all the revenue coming into the U.S. government. What do we do with the 20% that’s not mandatory spending? So, we have to have a serious discussion about that at the same time that we’re dealing with the conflict in Ukraine, Israel, and other threats.”
Senator Tillis on President Biden’s Supplemental Budget Request:
“We’re involved in discussions, and we should be instructed by the President’s request. The President did request funding for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan, but also for border security. We have to get the four legs of that stool together. We’re actively working on a border security strategy, which I think is critically important. Of course, we have to support Israel, and I am 100% behind sustaining the investment for Ukraine.”
Senator Tillis on Border Security Funding:
“It is a national security problem, but it is also a political problem. I don’t think that Republicans are the only ones who recognize that we’ve got to make progress on border security, and we have to get it done. Now, to the point on timing, the thing that worries me, or the thing that frustrates me about Washington, is when we set a deadline, we almost never get something done early. I hope we break the cycle on this one. I hope we have a definitive answer for Israel, Ukraine, and the American people on border security before Christmas.”
Senator Tillis on Ukraine and Israel Funding:
“Well, I think those of us who support both Israel and Ukraine funding believe that we should move that as a block. We cannot have a lapse in Ukraine funding. That could have been a strategy on the part of some members of the House who apparently do not want to support sustaining the Ukraine effort and I completely disagree with them. I think that history will remember them in a very negative light. We’ve got to work together. I think that the Speaker is doing the best with the hand that he’s dealt. This is a case where the Republicans need to understand the American people want us to lead and leading means we have to address these pressing problems.”
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