On the recordMay 16, 2011
imagine there is a choice for Congress to make. Here is the choice. There are two doors. We are standing before both of them, but we have to pick one of the doors. Behind door No. 1 is a choice that the Chairman of the Federal Reserve calls ``catastrophic.'' The Secretary of the Treasury says if we open that same door, it could lead to a financial crisis ``more severe than the crisis from which we are only now starting to recover.'' Let me repeat that, Mr. President. Chairman Bernanke says that opening that door would be ``catastrophic.'' Secretary Geithner says it would lead to a financial crisis ``more severe than the crisis from which we are only now starting to recover.'' The majority of the American people we represent say opening that door would be ``disastrous''--not just a bad idea, not one that would lead to discomfort, but one that would lead to disaster. It would not be just irresponsible to make that choice; we would be out of our minds. Well, we are going to have to make up our minds and do that sooner rather than later. That is because today America has hit a milestone, but it is not one anyone is celebrating. Today is the day we hit our debt limit, which means we have reached the maximum amount the United States is allowed to borrow.…





