On the recordOctober 14, 2013
In conclusion, I will briefly touch on our options. We have all heard on this floor Senators suggest that default is really not that big a deal, that we are not really going to default, that there are other ways around this, and that we need not be scared into making some hurried deal. At the end of the day, several Senators have accused the President of fearmongering and have accused my party of suggesting that default is a major threat to our country and our economy when, in fact, it is not. Let me briefly touch on the options that have been discussed by other Senators and, frankly, to my surprise. First, some have suggested we can pay our bills not when they are due but when we have the money-- sort of on a first-come, first-serve payment approach. Let's say we ran out of money, as I suggested, on the 20th of this month and could not pay our bills on the 21st. By the 23rd we would have enough money so we would pay the bills from the 21st, late, but go delinquent on the bills for the 22nd and 23rd, and so on. This is crazy. Payments would be delinquent and the United States would fall behind on its debt. This option would only make our situation worse. We would keep adding over $2 billion in debt every single day while going delinquent on our bills to Americans. The second way forward. Some have suggested we prioritize certain bills but ignore others.…
