Tea party backed Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Sunday insisted only Democrats were threatening default on the debt even though he has vowed not to raise the debt ceiling until Congress passes a balanced budget amendment.
"Let me be very clear about this," Cruz told Fox News host John Roberts. "I do not support default on the debt. We should never default on the debt, and the only players on Washington who are threatening default on the debt are President Barack Obama and [Senate Majority Leader] Harry Reid."
"In any given month, federal tax revenues are approximately 200 billion a month, interest on the debt is 30 to 40 billion dollars a month," the Texas Republican continued. "There is plenty of revenue to service the debt. And any responsible president would have stood at that podium and said, under any circumstance -- whatever happens with the debt ceiling -- we will always pay our debt, we will never default on the debt."
"And the reason the president isn't doing that is he's trying to scare people, he is trying to raise the spectre of a financial apocalypse."
A petition on the Ted Cruz for Senate campaign website calls on Congress to "hold the line" and prevent any debt ceiling increases without a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. constitution.
"I will stand with conservatives across the country in telling Congress not to raise the debt ceiling without a Balanced Budget Amendment," the petition states.
