CNN Newsroom: Interview With Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN)

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Jim, thank you so much for having me on. Of course in the Birchett administration, Jim, you know, you're always be welcomed at my White House. But, you know, I think everybody right now is just grasping at straws with rumors. I've been in contact with our leadership team and some of those folks. And I feel like they're close to a deal but they're not quite there. And I think a lot of the rumors that are going on are made to scare people.

You know, you've got people in their 20s basically in the White House who are putting things out that aren't accurate and just things that they would like to see in it. And I honestly don't think that they are very accurate at all. I think Speaker McCarthy is keeping to his word in what he said, in the things that he put in there, and that he'd like to keep in there. And I think those are still in there.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

The 2024 thing has been in conversations for a few days now. I think that that could pull a lot of people off of it, actually. But, I mean, just to be honest with you, Jim, since I've been in Washington, the Democrats, they hold -- they're the carrot and the stick party and they do it very well. And if the president calls, I don't see them bucking. If he cuts a deal, I think they'll phrase it and they'll use their wordsmiths enough to where they will all vote for it, the vast majority.

I mean, you might have the Squad or a few of those hold out, but that's all you'll see. And Hakeem Jeffries, you know, he's the one in the spot right now because, I mean, the Democrats are really pushing -- their side is more IRS agents. I mean, that's how we'll spin it. More IRS agents, more regulation, you know, and more spending. So I think they're -- I think Kevin McCarthy is in a very powerful position right now.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

We're all at blame, Jim. You know, I voted against -- under Trump and I voted against the budgets, actually, under him. I have a record -- a track record of that, you know? Some people have the mentality of just paying the interest. I don't. You know, we're Tennessee, we pay our debt. We're a balanced budget state. I spent 16 years in the legislature and we balanced the budget under Democrats and under Republican. We balanced the budget every year.

And now we thought so much of it, they put it in the Constitution that you have to balance the budget. So it's a reality, though, that both parties run it up.

And they call it one thing or the other. They say, you know, the sacred cows. Of course, I don't find any sacred cows. I'd like to see some cuts at the Pentagon. And everybody it seems they say, whoa, Burchett, you can't do that. But the reality is we need to start seeing some of that, too, and when you audit the Pentagon and they fail their audits every year and lose over $1 billion, how do you lose over $1 billion? And it just goes unchecked.

And we're all to blame, Jim. There's plenty of blame to go around. But eventually somebody is going to have to be responsible and I'd like to be the one. There's four Republicans that said enough is enough. You know, the way that Washington math works is -- go ahead.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

I'm not willing to vote this country into more debt, as I said. I send my daughter to the store. She says, dad, I'm going to spend -- I give her $10 and she goes down there, and she decides she wants to spend $20 then she comes back and said, dad, I only spent $15. So by Washington math, she saved me $5. In reality she spent five more dollars than we have.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

That's Washington math. We've got to (INAUDIBLE) responsible. We've got to hold it, Jim. That's all there is. Both parties need to start holding the line. If we went back to (INAUDIBLE), we would have a surplus right now if we were at that level of spending.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

I don't think we will send this country into default. We've allowed Janet Yellen to -- you know, she said we're going to default on the 7th. Now we're getting closer, and she said it's going to be on the 1st. She said it was the 6th. Nobody -- as the young people say, nobody's provided the receipts. Nobody's called her in to Washington and said show us the math on this.

Quarterly taxes are going to be paid. The country is going to be flushed with cash. We are -- if anything, it just delays the spending. People are still paying their taxes so the money's still going to be coming in. If anything, things will be delayed a little bit. All they're doing right now is scaring people. Instead of cutting programs that have no need other than just

political cronyism, we're telling our seniors, and the Democrats are using it well, and I get it. They're telling the seniors they're going to be cut, and our veterans are going to be cut, and nothing could be farther from the truth. And that's just the cruel reality of politics. Our most vulnerable to --

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

I think the debt ceiling is -- it's just a created thing to hold us into a responsible end of check. But the reality is, Jim, neither party is responsible. We've got to get back to some fiscal sanity in this country. It's just that much. We cannot keep spending at these levels. Again, if we went back to levels pre-COVID we would have a surplus now and we'd be paying down our debt.

What have we added since before COVID that is so important right now? Nothing. We need to get back to reality and stop spending money out of control. That's the bottom line. And if it takes taking a vote, I voted to shut the government down under Trump and I'd do it under Biden.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

The reality is it's not a default, it's a delay. Just like in business, you put something off. You can't pay it off this week, we pay it off next week, and this is irresponsible for us to say anything other than that. And frankly, it's irresponsible of the president to say we don't negotiate when under President Obama he was the chief negotiator in 2011, and so I believe that we have a history of negotiating this thing and yet this White House is putting out the message that we've never done it and that, again, these 20 plus-year- old negotiators and people that have his ear in the White House that have no memory of anything that's happened prior to last year.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

I did the last time, and I -- you know, I was one of four that did. I sat in his office and, you know, I told him no multiple times. We went through the scenarios. And I told him up front. I've been telling him this for and there's nothing new.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Thank you, Jim. We miss you in Knoxville, brother.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source