On the recordFebruary 5, 2014
Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has been urging Congress to act before Friday's debt ceiling deadline, but here we are again with no signs of legislative progress, with rumors of a ransom that Republicans will demand before Congress will be allowed to do its job. The Treasury Department is once again being forced to resort to extraordinary measures to continue financing the government. These games of chicken are dangerous. They are irresponsible, they have led to turmoil in the markets, and they have cost our economy billions. We have avoided disaster in the past and I believe will avoid it this time. In any game of chicken, one side always must blink. But what happens when neither side blinks? Disaster. I ask my colleagues to help me install a permanent fix that would end the brinksmanship surrounding the debt limit. My H.R. 233 allows the debt limit to be raised unless a supermajority of Congress votes to block such action. This would permanently shift the role of Congress to disapproving debt ceiling increases instead of being forced to approve them. My approach has been introduced by Senators Schumer, Boxer, and Hirono in the Senate, and has been endorsed by a growing chorus of economists and outside thought leaders. I urge my colleagues to join me in pursuing these permanent, necessary reforms. ____________________
