Michael Bennet: “I wasn't going to come to the floor today, but I was in the chair and I have been hearing some of the debate that is…”

“I wasn't going to come to the floor today, but I was in the chair and I have been hearing some of the debate that is going on about this debt ceiling and I decided that, once again, I needed to stand and remind people what this vote is about when we get to it. The Presiding Officer has heard me talk about this before. Our failure to lift the debt ceiling is not like the United States cutting up its credit card and saying we are not spending money anymore. It is exactly like a household at home, back in Colorado, saying we overspent, we weren't careful, and we are not going to pay the cable bill this month even though we owe it or we are not going to pay our mortgage this month even though we owe it. Those are the kinds of things that in the real world lead in worst cases to bankruptcy but in a lousy case can lead to interest rates going up because the bank says we are not going to let people pay a lower interest rate for their mortgage because they are not a good credit risk. That is exactly what is going to happen to the United States of America if we renege on the full faith and credit of the United States. That is why I was so pleased to see an editorial today in the Wall Street Journal called ``A Debt-Limit Breakout.'' The Journal observed that: What this debate needs is a breakout strategy--to wit, Republicans should answer Mr. Obama's tax call by accepting his business tax increases in return for a lower corporate tax rate.…”