On the recordMay 25, 2023
When I was running to serve in this place back in 2018, I distinctly remember a telephone call that I got from a sitting Member of Congress right before the July Fourth holiday. He said to me: ``Are you ready to take a job where holidays may not be holidays anymore?'' I thought about it, and I said, ``Yes, I am.'' Well, here we are. We are on the eve of Memorial Day weekend and let me just let the American public know that when we finished votes this morning, the Republicans rushed off the floor to fly home without getting this job done. The reasonable people are the ones who are still here, and they are all Democrats sitting on this side of the room. Where are the rest of the grownups? Many of my colleagues across the aisle seem unable to grasp the gravity of defaulting on our debt. Paying our bills is not something we should have to negotiate. It is a necessity of governing. A default will cause an economic catastrophe. For Pennsylvania's Seventh Congressional District, default means 7,600 jobs killed, 105,000 families with Social Security payments in jeopardy, 282,000 people with Medicare, Medicaid, or VA health coverage at risk. Mr. Speaker, it is time to stop playing games and protect working families from financial ruin. ____________________
