On the recordJuly 29, 2011
During the period of time we were waiting yesterday for a decision by the House of Representatives, which they still didn't come to--during that period of time, we had an opportunity to have many personal conversations among Senators--Democrats and Republicans--and I would say that unanimously, to a person, Democratic and Republican Senators agreed that a default would be an economic disaster for the United States of America. The majority leader has been briefed this morning by the Treasury Secretary about some of the prospects of default. We have heard only one that I know of--a Republican Senator--come to the floor and say that a default on our debt could be managed very easily. I want to ask, since I have heard from business leaders in Illinois of closings that were literally canceled this week for multimillion- dollar investments in the city of Chicago in the State of Illinois because of what is happening in the House of Representatives, can the majority leader please tell us, as much as he can at this moment, what the prospects are if we do reach the point of default on this national debt?
