On the recordOctober 14, 2013
I would like to thank the gentleman from New York and the gentleman from Nevada for having this Special Order tonight, and also our tireless and fearless leader, the Honorable Marcia Fudge, chairwoman of the CBC. ``Insane,'' ``catastrophic,'' ``chaotic,'' ``a nuclear bomb''--these are just some of the words our top economists and business leaders have used to describe what will happen to our economy if Congress chooses not to pay our bills on time. The last time we flirted with not paying our bills on time, the economy flew into a tailspin, the markets plummeted, consumer confidence took a nosedive, our credit rating was downgraded, and our economic recovery came to a screeching halt. That was when we only got close to a default. If we actually defaulted, the short-and long-term consequences would be unimaginable. So, if this is the case, then how did we even get ourselves here again? The answer is simple. An extreme group of the Republican Party, the Tea Party, is so obsessed with defunding the Affordable Care Act that they are even willing to shut down the government and hold the full faith and credit of the United States hostage. Now, what does that mean, the ``full faith and credit?'' Mr. Speaker, when I hear that, it makes me think about what this Nation has meant to the world, about what this Nation has done for its people--the full faith and credit of the United States.…
