The Hill News

A new Republican senator suggested Wednesday a compromise to ensure the U.S. would not default on its debt obligations.

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) said he'd introduce legislation that would make sure the U.S. would meet its obligations even if lawmakers weren't able to agree on the spending cuts Republicans have demanded in exchange for raising the legal limit on the amount the government can borrow.

"I intend to introduce legislation that would require the Treasury to make interest payments on our debt its first priority in the event that the debt ceiling is not raised," Toomey wrote Wednesday in the Wall Street Journal. "This would not only ensure the continued confidence of investors at home and abr! oad, but would enable us to have an honest debate about the consequences of our eventual decision about the debt ceiling."

The proposal represents an interesting gambit by Toomey, a former chairman of the fiscally conservative Club for Growth who has tacked toward the center since being elected in Pennsylvania, a battleground state.

Many of the newly-installed conservative senators associated with the Tea Party movement have been talking tough about the impending debate over raising the debt ceiling, and have demanded a variety of concessions from President Obama and Democrats on spending before they agree on deep spending cuts.

"Look, I planned all along to vote no. and what I've said of late is that the only way I would even consider it would be it were mean to bring you about the passage of a balanced budget amendment through Congress," Utah Sen. Mike Lee (R) said Tuesday evening on Fox Business.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has taken a similar stance to Lee's, and one likely presidential candidate, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) has argued against raising the debt ceiling as well.

A default on U.S. debt obligations or failing to reach an agreement on a budget -- current funding for the government runs out in early March -- could be politically risky for Republicans, who have signaled that they all but want a government shutdown like the House GOP had forced in the 1990s.

It's not clear whether Toomey's ! proposal will gain any traction, but it represents an attempt to bridge the gap between GOP senators who are wary of a politically risky showdown on spending, and new, Tea Party members who are eager to pick a fight with the White House.

"Last fall's elections were largely a call to finally deal with this imminent threat, and the vote on the debt ceiling is Congress's opportunity to begin making real progress," he wrote. "We can do so without jeopardizing the full faith and credit of our countryâ€"and we should."