Toomey: Geithner to Blame if U.S. Defaults

The Hill reports:

In a new turn in the deficit blame game, Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) is strong>arguing< that if Congress fails to raise the nation’s debt ceiling and the U.S. defaults on bond payments, it would be Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s fault.

Tooomy, in a post on Real Clear Politics, argues that Geithner has the choice of what payments to renege on, and if he chooses to default on bonds it will be up to him.

“Moreover, as the Congressional Research Service has noted, the Treasury secretary himself has the discretion to decide which bills to pay first in the event that a cash flow shortage occurs. Thus, it is he who would have to consciously, and needlessly, choose to default on our debt if the debt ceiling is not promptly raised upon reaching it. It takes a lot of chutzpah to preemptively blame congressional Republicans for a default only he could cause,” Toomey said.

He said that Geithner has argued foolishly that failing to pay welfare payments or furloughing workers would send bad market signals that are equivalent to a default.

Toomey said President Obama and Geithner are threatening a bond market doomsday in order to continue an out-of-control spending spree.