Jim Costa: “Since 1960, Congress has raised and extended the debt limit 78 times over a 63-year period. Let's put this in…”

“Since 1960, Congress has raised and extended the debt limit 78 times over a 63-year period. Let's put this in perspective: 49 times under Republican administrations, 29 times under Democratic Presidents. Sixty-three years we have raised the debt ceiling 78 times. We are one of only two democratic nations with a statutory debt ceiling and the only one, because of the magnificent extent of our country, the U.S. dollar being the common currency of the world that can threaten a global economic crisis--think about that--by playing around with the debt ceiling. The debt ceiling has no impact on government spending. Why? Because it only commences to pay the bills that we have already committed ourselves to. Both Republicans and Democrats have passed legislation that has created debt, that requires us to pay Social Security, that requires us to pay other mandatory programs in which there has been bipartisan support for. Instead, this debt ceiling restricts the Treasury, if, in fact, we do not lift the debt ceiling, from paying those bills. That is why for over 63 years, 78 times, the Congress has chosen to raise the debt ceiling. Why? Because we don't want to put the liability of the world's economy, let alone the U.S. economy, at risk. We don't want to be deadbeats, right? I think most Americans feel they ought to pay their bills.…”