Political Quotes

On the recordOctober 22, 2015
Madam President, I rise to give voice to concerns about the pending battle over what is referred to as the debt ceiling. We have been told that the ability of the United States to pay its bills on time and its interest on bonds will expire on November 3, which is only about a dozen days from now--less than 2 weeks. This is of grave concern to Americans. In fact, if it hasn't been a concern to someone, it should be because it touches almost every American household. This is all about the question of whether we are going to pay a bill that is due for previous spending on time or not. This is all about whether we are going to pay the interest that will be due on Treasury bills on time or not. Great Nations don't pay their bills late. They are expected to be organized and competent and have their act together, but there is also a tremendous incentive to pay on time because when you pay late, the interest rate on your debt goes up because you become less creditworthy. Many folks in this Chamber say we should operate like a family and think about family values when it comes to finance. Here is the connection with how families operate: They know if they don't pay their mortgage or insurance or their Target bill on time, then their cost of credit is going to go up and their credit score will go down.…
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Jeff Merkley
Democratic · Oregon

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