On the recordJuly 31, 2011
I would answer my colleague that there has never been an instance, since 1939, in the 89 times we have extended the debt ceiling--except for one technical period in 1979 for a few days--when we have used the debt ceiling as a political bargaining chip, and there has never been a time when we were this close to defaulting on the debt causing a true concern across the country and the world that the United States would not keep its promise to pay its bills, which, as the Senator knows, could result in a loss of confidence in our economy and an increase in interest rates not just for the government but for businesses and families everywhere at exactly the wrong time.
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