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Will lack of compromise push us over the fiscal cliff?

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    Utah Senator Mike Lee explains

  • Duration 4:42
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He says the president is simply tossing aside the constitution when it seems inconvenient to him.

Weather comes to who has the power to control the debt ceiling or making recess appointments.

I talked earlier with -- -- Republican senator Mike Lee about the strong accusations and much more.

We thank you for joining us in the midst of the time it is very busy on both the senate and house sides of the White House as well as we understand negotiations -- we hope the negotiations continue.

Over the fiscal cliff I want to ask you about this idea that's being discussed that.

Raising the debt ceiling could be something that would be taken out of congress' purview.

And given -- and it essentially to the White House for the president's alone to make that decision what do you make of that discussion.

Insofar as we're talking about legislation to do that I think politically and that idea has to be dead on arrival I don't know why congress would ever.

Voluntarily park which is constitutional authority.

Given to congress under clause one of article one section eight.

That this move is an unwise proposal and not one that I see getting any traction.

Do you think that it is a brought her sort of look at different moves we've seen by this administration and two essentially go around congress whether it comes to regulations or trees -- things that.

In some ways have a limited or no congressional intervention in -- a big policy decisions that impacts Americans as a whole.

If it is another instance of the president's go it alone policy where he's trying to do this without congressional authorization.

Bad that I think constitutionally he's on to the weakest possible ground.

There's nothing in the constitution -- they can be read to best the president with this kind of sweeping authority.

This simply disregard congress.

And essentially as some of those actions are being challenged things he's done a pass for instance the recess appointments to be -- -- are being now being challenged.

In federal appellate courts do you think that this administration will be called on the carpet at any point to account for some of those maneuvers.

I do think so when in fact -- just this week we had a challenge that was brought to the forefront.

In the US court of appeals for the DC circuit I think there is a very significant chance that in that case the court might well conclude that the president overstepped his boundaries.

When he made four recess appointments in January of this year at a time when the senate was not in recent.

We will continue to follow that case it -- very interesting.

-- discussion to have.

But back to the issue of the fiscal -- are you being cute and and clued in on what's happening some Republicans and very publicly complained.

That there are negotiations.

And bargains being made behind closed doors as far as they know that they are getting their information about what's being.

-- hammered out essentially from the news reports from media reports do you feel like you're getting enough information.

I do feel like I'm being updated regularly if that's the question.

If the question is how I feel about the substance of where where they're going quite -- that I have not encouraged.

Especially after -- the president rejected.

-- -- an initial tentative offer by the speaker earlier this week it didn't happen in a way they gave me confidence -- the president is really interest in negotiating.

Gave me the sense that perhaps he's not only willing to allow us to go off a cliff but perhaps he wants to push -- -- Well that's a very interesting allegation because of course the White House continues to say that's not what it wants at least publicly.

What your colleague senator Lindsey Graham a fellow Republican there in the senate said as much a few days back that he thinks they've made a political calculation.

And it there's a very real possibility that that's gonna happen.

Yes and it's -- concerned all of us none of us want taxes to go up and all of us realize I think that a tax increase.

At this point would be devastating to our economy.

-- tax increase even if it's focused only on the top two tax brackets.

What will killed 700000 jobs and those are not going to be CEO jobs was or not top 1% jump -- those -- Men and women who were working hard and often living paycheck to paycheck who can hardly afford.

To absorb the economic impact of -- job loss.

So much of the conversation seems to be focused on those tax rates are you concerned that there's and not enough of a conversation happening about the other side of this equation about federal spending.

Yes especially given the fact that the president's proposal doesn't really take seriously the spending side of the equation in fact.

-- -- president's proposal actually contemplates the spending increase not spending cuts.

And we have to remember that ultimately what we have Shannon is not a revenue problem as much as it is a spending problem and that's where we have to be focused.

What the president is quite decidedly not focused in that.

-- well we wish you all the best in finding a solution senator Mike Lee thank you sir for your time to think you ship.

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