By Philip Bunnell
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) made the case for passing a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution today by highlighting the link between the growing U.S. debt and China’s military rise.
Cornyn highlighted the potential danger of China’s holdings of American debt, currently estimated to be around $1.1 trillion. “Some folks say there’s no cause for alarm,” Cornyn said. Yet he then noted how a former Chinese general said that “dumping U.S. bonds,” would be an appropriate response to antagonizing U.S. policy.
China, aside from its holdings of U.S. debt, has also become a belligerent security force in the Asian region and is “unsettling its neighbors,” through the conducting of military excercises, Cornyn said. China has claimed the South China Sea, is increasing tensions on its disputed border with India, and is “an enabler of North Korea,” Cornyn warned.
Cornyn criticized President Obama for not accepting Taiwan’s letter of request to buy F16 fighter jets from the U.S. This reflects, Cornyn said, the fact that “China has intimidated US foreign policy.”
A number of Senate Republicans are launching a push this week to pass a Balanced Budget Amendment. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has said that he would like a vote to occur by the middle of July. With all 47 Republicans on board, the effort carries some weight, though actually amending the Constitution would require subsequent ratification by two-thirds of the states.
Cornyn pounced on a quote from then-Senator Barack Obama, who warned in 2006 of the consequences of a growing national debt. The quote, Cornyn explained, was meant to “point out the hypocrisy… and lack of leadership,” coming from Obama on the debate to raise the debt limit again later this summer.