Holland Reporter

Last night, Congressman Bill Huizenga (MI-04) joined Bloomberg’s Balance of Power to discuss the state of play on the debt limit as well as the upcoming hearing in the Financial Services Committee regarding the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. Video of Congressman Huizenga’s interview is available by clicking on the image below. 

On the Frustration of President Biden not Negotiating

There’s a little frustration, frankly, that it took 97 days to get to the negotiations. We wouldn’t be quite in this spot if the negotiations had started earlier like many of us were asking to happen. I get it, the President is happy. He had a bike ride and some ice cream this weekend and then he’s off to Japan, but that is not the reality of what we are dealing with here on the ground. I think what Speaker McCarthy had to say is probably more accurately reflecting what is going on.

On What Needs to Happen in Negotiations

The agreements are always moving around. My general rule of thumb is if we make progress [on spending reforms], I will vote for a debt ceiling increase. If we do not make progress, then I won’t. I have voted for debt ceiling increases in the past and I have voted against some in the past when I haven’t seen that willingness to move. So, it’s really going to be situational, I think.

A lot of my colleagues are really looking at two things. One, what are those work requirements surrounding federal aid going to people who that need help but are able-bodied, are not head of households, don’t have dependents or kids to worry about, – are they putting in an education component, or a work, or a volunteer component?  I think that is an important symbol but also an important practical element.

The other thing is clawing back of those covid dollars from states and local governments that have had two years to use them and have not used them. That’s an important thing to reclaim as the federal government and frankly I would like to expand that but that’s not going to be happening in this particular negotiation.  

On the SVB and Signature Bank Hearing

First and foremost, we need more information. We have a number of letters of requests for information that have either been stonewalled or slow-walked and that’s going to be part of my questioning. What is the delay? We need this information. I am glad there was a report that was done, but it was done by the regulators themselves. We have a constitutional obligation to go and do our own investigation as to what had happened. We are going to be looking at timelines, not just with these critical bank failures, but what had been leading up to that?  What were the red flags that had been posted by regulators and outside folks.

Original source can be found here.