Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has signed on to co-sponsor the Cut, Cap, Balance Act, The Daily Caller has learned.
A group of Republican Senators introduced the legislation last week. The bill is the legislative embodiment of the Cut, Cap and Balance Pledge that began floating through the halls of Capitol Hill last month. It seeks to tie a vote on the debt limit to spending cuts and caps, and the passage of a balanced budget amendment.
The bill now has 32 co-sponsors in the Senate, including Sens. Mike Lee of Utah, Jim DeMint of South Carolina and Rand Paul of Kentucky. No Democrat has signed on yet.
Initially, those promoting the pledge were skeptical that Republican leaders would sign on. McConnell, in fact, never signed the pledge itself. At the time, the Cut, Cap, Balance Act represented a clear divide separating the GOP establishment from freshmen and “Tea Party” members of Congress. (McConnell proposal on debt limit prompts swift backlash from conservatives)
Earlier this week, McConnell drew the ire of many conservatives by proposing a contingency plan if a deal on the debt limit is not reached. McConnell’s plan would give President Barack Obama the authority to demand an increase on the debt ceiling unless Congress voted to block the request.
Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee also signed on to co-sponsor the Cut, Cap, Balance Act Thursday.