'I think people are quite disgusted with Congress,' Buffett said. Buffett: Raise debt ceiling today

Disgusted by the brinksmanship on Capitol Hill, Warren Buffett is calling on Congress to raise the debt ceiling as soon as possible — like, today.

“I think people are quite disgusted with Congress,” the business magnate told Bloomberg TV. “The idea of having a debt ceiling — as this country grows, our debt capacity grows. To go through this charade, we are going to increase the debt ceiling, so why Congress does not do it in five minutes instead of spending weeks and weeks posturing and complaining and holding other things hostage, I think it is disgusting.”


The country came within days of defaulting on its debt last August, as President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner tried and failed to craft a “grand bargain” to raise revenues and limit entitlement spending. After those talks collapsed, Congress passed a compromise to cut spending and extend the debt limit, which the country is expected to hit around year’s end.

“I think they ought to do it this afternoon,” Buffett continued. “They know they are going to do it, and they are all just sitting around using it as a little pawn in the game to try to embarrass the other side.”

Congress hasn’t shown any such inclination. Even if they had the will to raise the ceiling, they couldn’t meet Buffett’s suggested timeline as they’re out of session until at least Monday.

Buffett also said the Supreme Court made the correct decision by upholding Obama’s health care reform law, but warned more needed to be done to hold down health care costs. Buffett’s company, Berkshire Hathaway, spends over $2 billion a year on health care.

“I think it is the right decision,” said Buffett, an Obama ally. “But I think the health care problem is the No. 1 problem of America and of American business. … It is the tapeworm of the American economy. We have not dealt with that yet. Obamacare is a step in the right direction in many ways. In terms of cost, it is going to require a huge change.”

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Warren Buffett