Chris Van Hollen: “the United States of America has always paid its bills on time--always. It is an unbroken record that dates back to our…”

“the United States of America has always paid its bills on time--always. It is an unbroken record that dates back to our founding--a 232-year streak--and that unbroken record has helped the United States become the anchor of the global financial system and the many benefits that it brings to every American in our country. But now, as we have heard on this floor over the last 2 days and more, Senate Republicans are threatening to end that unbroken record. Senate Republican Leader McConnell has not only said that he and Senate Republicans will vote against increasing the debt ceiling to allow us to pay bills that are already due and owing but that they will block a vote on the measure altogether. That would destroy our economy; it would throw our country into a recession; it could cause the loss of millions of jobs all over the Nation, and trillions of dollars of wealth would collapse. What makes this threat by Senate Republicans so especially outrageous is that they know exactly what devastation will be caused by their actions. In fact, in 2019, Senator McConnell himself stressed the importance of raising the debt limit so we could avoid an unnecessary economic meltdown. Here is what he said then: We need to address the debt limit. It secures our Nation's full faith and credit and ensures that Congress will not throw this kind of unnecessary wrench into the gears of our job growth and thriving economy.…”