Rich Neal: “last November I was extremely concerned about the debt ceiling. I admired the manner in which Secretary Rubin handled…”

“last November I was extremely concerned about the debt ceiling. I admired the manner in which Secretary Rubin handled the crisis. Secretary Rubin and his staff worked diligently to find a solution to the possibility of hitting the debt ceiling. Congress' failure to take action placed the Department of the Treasury in a precarious position. Congressional leadership was holding the debt ceiling hostage during the battle of the budget. Congress played chicken with the financial markets and the good name of our country. Secretary Rubin skillfully used every tool possible to save the credit reputation of the United States and to keep the United States from defaulting. The United States faced the real possibility of a default. Our credit rating had dropped. Secretary Rubin took courageous steps to keep the Government functioning and the markets stabilized and he was severely criticized. At one point, there was even talk of impeachment. Unfortunately, Secretary Rubin was criticized by many Members of this body. Many were concerned about the use of investments of Federal employment retirement funds. The General Accounting Office [GAO] has released a report on Treasury's handling of the debt ceiling. The GAO report concluded that Treasury conducted the Nation's debt management legally and properly during the debt ceiling crisis. Treasury's actions avoided a default and violation of the statutory debt limit.”