Raúl Grijalva: “I thank the gentleman for yielding time. Mr. Speaker, the default on America act is foolish. It is harmful. It is a…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding time. Mr. Speaker, the default on America act is foolish. It is harmful. It is a harmful piece of legislation offered to appease the Republican Party's most extreme fringe. The Republicans' plan to handle the debt limit is not a plan at all. It is a ransom note that threatens aggressively to take our country backward, and everybody loses. Either Republicans force default, which results in skyrocketing student loans, veterans losing out on hard-earned benefits, and countless other incomprehensible effects that will hit the most vulnerable the hardest but will hit working-class folks and middle- class folks hard, as well. Republicans can enact their tone-deaf economic agenda, giving a huge windfall to billionaires and oil barons, while cutting food assistance to poor families, children, and older people. If Republicans had their way, they would strip our communities of the right to fight back against polluting industries while padding Big Oil's pockets. They cut funding for climate science while reversing the progress the Democrats have made on clean energy. They do absolutely nothing to address emissions. In fact, they give companies free passes to pollute while cutting funding to fight wildfires and provide drought relief. They say they will help American families, but it slashes already underfunded Tribal education programs and Indian child welfare programs.…”