Congressional Republicans didn't fare any better with Kelly, particularly the Tea Party elements who refused to raise the debt ceiling. "Anyone who wouldn't raise the debt ceiling isn't fit for public office and couldn't pass Economics 101," Kelly said, adding that if they had their way and cut government spending by 8.5% of GDP they would take the unemployment rate from 9.1% to the 17% area. The federal debt problem, he said on several occasions, is a chronic long-term problem, not an immediate crisis that threatens America in the near term.