Nydia M. Velazquez: “As the clock ticks down toward default, we are debating a bill that will not solve the debt problem. It will make life…”

“As the clock ticks down toward default, we are debating a bill that will not solve the debt problem. It will make life worse for 98 percent of Americans--to protect the wealthiest 2 percent of our society. Meanwhile nearly $1.6 trillion would be cut from programs like Social Security and Medicare. Yet, despite these cuts, under this bill, we would face the exact same crisis just six months from now. We often hear about the need for ``certainty'' in the business community. With financial markets ready to tumble and our credit on the brink of a downgrade, how does kicking the can down the road for six months provide certainty? Failing to resolve this crisis will be disastrous for our economic recovery. Capital that is already hard to come by for entrepreneurs will be even further out of reach for our nation's small businesses. That's some jobs plan. Working families will pay $250 more in credit card interest. Mortgage payments will rise by $1,000. Older workers could lose thousands of dollars in retirement investment. Mr. Speaker, the American people expect us to act swiftly and responsibly. The bill before us fails on both counts. Let's reject this measure and develop a real solution.”